Yesterday meets Tomorrow (Female SYOC)
by Abizeau
Summary: The Selection meets The Future… Will Prince Alec find his future Empress in a world of shining High Technology, where Secrets and highly illegal Hackers playing with Gravity, Time and Brain Quants are ever present? Will this old-fashion Process be successful in this world of only Tomorrows? [Female SYOC CLOSED: 21/21] - Rated T
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Princess Avonlea was standing in front of her ScreenWardrobe, trying on outfits on her HoloCopy, putting dresses, skirts, tops, shoes and mixing them until she found the perfect outfit for the Designer Show she was invited to, like always. But today, she couldn't find anything that suited her mood.

"I don't have anything to wear," she mumbled under her breath. Her maid didn't dare say anything to contradict the Princess. "Screw it," she said. "Randomize," she ordered the Wardrobe. After a couple seconds of shifting outfits on the HoloCopy, it stopped. It was an old white dress she hadn't worn in months. Years, maybe? "How do I still have that?" she said. "I donate everything every season." She turned to her maid. "Do you know?"

"I don't, Your Highness."

Princess Avonlea looked at her HoloCopy. It was a white sheath dress with a high neckline, floor length, and a slit on the side, revealing her leg, and widening sleeves with feathers at the elbows. It was paired with giant flat round white earrings and black pumps.

"Actually, this is it," she said, pressing on the OK button. Ten seconds later, the dress appeared in the closet, thanks to a vacuum process, pressed and ready, with the shoes and earrings in a smaller opening next to the larger one for the dress. She took the hanger with the dress on it and started to undress, her maid helping her.

'Dad's office. Now' she read on her contacts. Since when did her brother Alec order her around like that?

"I'm busy," she said, composing the message to send him back. "What does he want?" then she blinked once, sending the message.

'Idk. But NOW' he replied.

"Ugh. I don't have time for this," she said, while her maid zipped her dress. She looked in the bottom right of her vision, where she always had the time. Because saying 'time' in the middle of a boring conversation wasn't very becoming. "Actually, I have ten minutes," she said. She quickly slipped on the black pumps and put her earrings on the way to her dad's office.

Once there, she scanned her retina on the RetBox and the door opened for her. Alec and the Emperor Theodore, her father, were there, waiting.

"About time," Alec mumbled.

Her father nodded at her. "Come in, sit here, Avonlea."

"You'll have to make this fast, dad. I have ten minutes before I have to go the show."

He nodded. "Good. Then we'll settle this fast." He leaned back in his old-fashioned high back brown leather chair and looked at Alec and Avonlea. "Alec," he started. "You're twenty-four years old, your mother and I think it's time for you to find yourself a wife."

"A what?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

"You heard me," his father said.

"But I already have a girlfriend," he said, putting up his defenses.

Avonlea snorted. "You call that sex buddy of yours your girlfriend?"

"Just because you don't believe in love or sex doesn't mean I don't," he replied.

"That's enough," Emperor Theodore said. "Let me finish." He cleared his throat. "You are going to have a Selection. 35 young ladies from all over Illéa will be chosen at random to come compete for your hand."

Alec burst out laughing. "That old Process? You're joking, right? If you're so inclined on finding me a wife, why don't you just search for the best candidate with the Personality Search? You have every single person in the Database. Put in some criteria, and you'll find the perfect one."

"No," he said. "You need to find your own wife."

"What am I doing here?" Avonlea asked, cutting them. "Clearly this has nothing to do with me."

"Yes, it does," he said. "Because you are going to coach the ladies into becoming the perfect Princess/Empress."

She let out a dry chuckle. "No way. I'm not going to help my brother find a wife. I don't believe in love and you know that. I'm the worst person for this."

"It's because of that that I want you to do it," Theodore said. "You will help make the next Empress. It's his job to find a wife, and yours to mold her as the Empress."

Avonlea rolled her eyes, and quickly checked the time. "I need to leave in four minutes," she says. "Do you need anything else from me?"

"Aves, don't leave me here," Alec said. "This is not going to happen," he said, looking at his father, and Theodore smiled.

"It is. The Invites have already been sent this morning to the candidates. You'll be Selecting them on Friday, on the Report, live."

Alec's shoulder's slumped. "You can't be serious."

Avonlea chuckled. "What are you so afraid of? They're just girls."

Alec glared at her. "Thanks for nothing," he mumbled under his breath.

"That'll be all for now," he said. "Avonlea, I want to talk with you after your show, about the coaching thing."

She nodded reluctantly and both walked out of the office. "I bet you're afraid of falling in love," she said when they were alone, a smirk on her pretty face.

"Yeah right. Love isn't for Emperors, and you know it. All he wants is for me to have someone to have Heirs with."

She smirked. "You wanna bet? I'm sure you're going to fall in love. You have such a soft heart," she said sarcastically. But there was some truth behind that, and they both knew it.

"Okay," he said, squaring his shoulders. "What do you want to bet?"

"Your collection of old Harleys."

"WHAT? No way."

"All you have to do is not fall in love, and you keep your babies."

"Fine. But if I don't fall in love by the time I chose an Empress, you'll have to have a boyfriend for three months."

"Okay," she said, sure that she would never have to do that because she knew he would fall in love during his Selection. They all did. Or did they?

* * *

Hi guys!

yay, I'm back! But I have no idea why I'm starting this now, two weeks before my exams... Ha... typical...

Anyway, this is a FEMALE SYOC, and there are still all the 25 slots to fill in. You'll find some info and the form on my profile.

PM me your lady; sorry, no Guests :(

Can't wait to see your girls! And thanks for submitting ;)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

After the Designer show, where Princess Avonlea had been covered in gifts by the Designers and organizers – she was their muse and she knew it – she went back directly to her room, ignoring her father's request to talk with her. She wasn't yet in her room then she received a message on her Contacts.

'Waiting for you, Avonlea.' It said. She rolled her eyes and composed a reply. "Coming" she said and blinked to send the message. She turned around on her heels and went to her father's office, on the seventh floor. On the way there, she passed her twin brother Austin.

"Hey," he said. "Where are you going?"

"Dad wants to talk to me."

He frowned "What about?"

"I'll tell you later. He's waiting."

Austin raised an eyebrow. "All this secrecy," he said, then walked away to his own quarters, on the fifteenth floor, where his next conquest had been sent to and was waiting for him. He grinned at the thought. How many, now? He thought to himself. But he stopped counting long ago…

Avonlea scanned her eye on the RetBox and the door opened.

"I'm here, dad- Oh, hi, mom," she said coming in. When the Empress was present in a discussion like this, it was important.

"Hello, darling," she said. "Your father told you about Alec's Selection coming up?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"Good. Then I suppose you accepted his demand," the Empress continued.

"Yes," Avonlea said. _As if I had a choice_ , she thought.

"Excellent." Her mother looked at her husband, letting him continue.

"You have two weeks to prepare a course that will go on until the end of the Selection, knowing that it could take weeks or months. You will teach them everything you were taught here, from Protocol, to Etiquette, to Politics and History. Speech and Fashion, everything."

Avonlea let out a dry chuckle. "And I'm supposed to get that ready in two weeks?"

"Yes," the Empress said. "They will be selected in one week, and they come the next. You have two weeks to prepare. No more fashion shows, or parties. Your job is to create the next Empress."

Avonlea took a sharp intake of breath. "Of course," she said, biting back a bitter reply. Since when was it her job to do that? She wasn't even the spare! She stood to leave, without being dismissed by her parents. But they didn't stop her. She walked down the corridor covered in mirrors, but she didn't want to look at herself right now. She stomped as gracefully as she could to her room, ignoring the Vacuum Elevator, and ordered a rose scented bubble bath to relax. And think. Her mind always worked better in a bubble bath.

Her maid, April Ebony, quickly went to work while Avonlea undressed. She hanged the dress on the hanger and put it back in the Wardrobe. "Press and Store," she ordered, and the dress was whisked away by the vacuum. She kicked her pumps away and sat at her vanity table. "Bath hair," she ordered, putting her hands on the armrests of her fluffy chair. An electric current went through her arms and up to her head to pile all her hair on the top of her head so they wouldn't get wet in the bath. She then wrapped a BathHeader around them and stripped naked before entering the pink bath water.

She sighed in relief as the rose water relaxed her tense muscles. She lay back her head on the waterproof pillow and closed her eyes. "Come tell me when it's thirty minutes before dinnertime," she said to April who nodded and closed closed the door. Avonlea turned off her Contacts.

-x-

Alec was in the Hangar, on the first floor, polishing his latest baby – a shiny dark gray Harley Davidson – when he heard sharp stiletto steps on the concrete floor, resonating all around the giant garage. He sighed. Those small steps were unmistakable. And only Calliope Violet Norwood would dare come disturb him while he was polishing his motorbikes.

"What the hell is this?" she asked, sending him the Selection Invite on his Contacts. "You need to look for a wife?" she said, sticking out her hip and placing her red manicured hand on her hip. "You already have a girlfriend." She pouted, making her red lips – the same color as her nails – stand out on her white outfit and olive skin. Her hair was in a perfect long bob, and her grey eyes expertly done with make-up.

"Yeah," he said. "About that Selection thing. I got wind of it only this morning. And I don't have a choice," he said, clearly embarrassed. "But you can sign in," he said lamely.

"You bet I will," she said, a smug smile on her lips. "And I'll hire a Hacker to make sure I make it in."

Alec chuckled. "Don't you think everyone's going to try that?" He crossed his arms. "It's gonna be done in paper. Everything will be printed. There's no tampering with that, Cal."

She smiled slyly. "Well, then," she said, coming closer to him and putting her hands on his chest. "I'll make sure to stick around this place."

Alec couldn't resist her sly, sexy smile, and she knew it. His hands went to her waist, and he kissed her, sliding his hands lower. She kissed him back and pressed her leg between his legs. "I'm all yours, now, if you want," she whispered in his ear, lightly biting his earlobe. Alec grinned, feeling his pants becoming tighter by the second. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to the room at the back, where he liked to usually spend time looking for Harley sellers on the Feeds. But now he didn't have that in mind. He pushed Calliope on the table and they were set.

-x-

A moment later, he buttoned up his pants while she pulled up her panties. "I'm definitely keeping you around, during the Selection," he says, grinning. "I doubt they'll be this good."

"Of course, they won't," she said, satisfied she had the Crown Prince under her thumb. "But you better Select me, anyway."

"I can't promise you that," he said.

"Whatever," she replied. "I'm going home. Better fill in my form, right?" She didn't wait for his answer and walked away, leaving him alone in the little room. He sat on the desk, running a hand through his long dark brown hair and then went back to polishing his last purchase.

An hour later, he received a message on his Contacts: 'Dinner in thirty minutes, sir.' He grunted. Of course, his personal valet had to text him now, when he was almost finished. He quickly polished the last part, washed his hands and took the vacuum elevator up to the fifteenth floor, where the Royal Family's quarters were, on the highest level. He went to his room and quickly stripped down and went to the bathroom. He stood in the shower. "Express," he ordered and a flush of warm water rained on him, followed by a cloud of soap, and again a flush of water. Then, he walked out of the shower and stood on the grating on the floor, usually covered by a plush carpet, and a gush of wind blew from the floor, drying him in four seconds. Joel Li, his valet, was waiting for him with a white tuxedo for dinner.

Li and April were two of the many human staff the Royal family could afford. Normal people had Bots created with an Artificial Intelligence, but they weren't as good as the humans. The only Bots the Royal Family had were CleanBots. Everything else – cooking, serving, helping – was done by humans.

Once he was changed and ready, he headed for the Dinner dining room on the Tenth floor, taking the Vacuum Elevator – the VE – again. When he entered the large white room – every single place in the Palace was pristine white – he joined everyone at the table, already waiting for him. The Empress nodded to the human butler and he lead the service. Once the service was done, the staff stayed on the side of the room, giving privacy to the Royal family.

Nobody was talking. The Emperor was looking in the distance, something on his Contacts, and the Empress was eating silently, taking very small bites at the time. Avonlea was pushing her food around her plate, and Alec was eating without saying a word.

"So," Prince Austen said. "You guys are very talkative, tonight. Anything new?"

Alec glared at him. "Don't you read the Feeds?"

"What? Did I miss something big?"

"He didn't get the Invite, you idiot," Avonlea said. "He's a guy. And your brother."

Austen frowned. "Show the main Feed," he ordered to his Contacts under his breath. After a couple minutes of going through the latest news on the Feeds – and for once it wasn't about him – he dropped his fork. "Holy shit," he said, his eyes adjusting to the present. "You're having a Selection. Why am I always the last one to know about this?"

Avonlea snorted. "Because of your 'history'," she air-quoted, "with women." She flashed him a cheeky smile.

But instead of being offended by it, he grinned a wicked smile. "Lots of girls in the Palace. This is excellent news."

"They're not for you," his mother said. "So you quickly let go of the idea."

"Why? Can't Alec share?"

"They're people, Austen," the Emperor said. "Not Bots, or things."

* * *

Hey!

thanks for reading this second chapter! keep the girls coming in ;) And don't forget to tell me your Pinterest username when submitting a girl or reserving a spot, so I can invite you on the board ;)

Info on my profile!

See ya soon!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Calliope Violet Norwood had friends everywhere, from the Ones in the Palace, to Eights in the Underground tunnels of the city. How she did it was still a mystery to those who knew, but to her. She knew how to make her own way in life. She tied her hair in a tight ponytail and put her black invisibility hooded cloak, made of NanoTech Fabric that blended in its surroundings. It was one of her favorite pieces of clothing to wear, especially when she had some business to do. She also decided on Silencers instead of her usual black stilettos, and she was ready to go.

She avoided the crowded Hovos – the usual transportation in Angeles – and chose the longer way to her destination in case anyone saw her, which she doubted would happen. She was too good at her job for that. Forty-five minutes later, after countless stairs and tunnels, she stopped in front of a blue door in the Underground. She turned the knob four times until she heard the "clic" of a locket getting loose. A small RetBox came out of the said lock and she scanned her retina. The door popped open for her.

"Dax?" she called out, closing the door behind her. "It's me. Is anyone home?"

"Over here," she heard her brother call from the room in the far back of their small apartment, where all the Tech and Computers were stored. It was a secret room they could easily conceal if anyone came looking. For years they had managed to hide their business to the Sweeps coming at random.

"Hey," she said, coming in and ruffling his long brown hair.

"Hey, stop," he chuckled. "So, what brings you to the Underground, Kass?"

She sent him a sharp look.

"I mean Cal? Couldn't you choose a name closer to Kassandra? You had to pick Calliope," he said, rolling his eyes.

"It has so much more mystery to it, and it's starts the same, so you can correct yourself in case you slip," she teased. "Anyway, I need your expertise in something…"

He cracked his fingers. "What do you need?"

Dax didn't have Intelligent Contacts, it was too expensive, but Calliope sent him the Selection invitation anyway, knowing he would still get it. His eyes unfocused and he read it and laughed.

"You must be the only Eight who got an invite," he said. "What do you want me to do?"

"Make sure I'm Selected. Alec said it was going to be printed on real paper, and Selected in a week live on the Report. He said it's 'unhackable'," she air-quoted. "What do you think?"

Dax thought for a moment, wheels turning faster than normal in his brain, thanks to Derrick, his Brain Quant. He named it Derrick and gave it a male's voice, because he didn't want to be bossed around by a girl. Calliope found that very funny and always talked about Derrick as Dax's boyfriend, which irritated Dax a lot.

"It's doable," he said. "But that will be ten thousand bucks."

"You're making your sister pay? Come on!"

He shrugged. "It's that or you're not getting in. If you go to another Hacker, you'll have to pay double. This is a good price, considering a lot of girls are going to try this…"

"Ugh, fine," she said. "But I'll pay you when I'm Selected."

He shrugged. "Whatever you say." He turned to his computer and started entering code and typing faster than Calliope could follow. She was a good coder, but she didn't have a Quant in her brain. She had something entirely else: another identity. Dax had managed to hack her Dermal ID chip and completely erase Kassandra Smith from the records, replacing her by Calliope Violet Norwood, a young woman who came from England and stayed in Angeles since. She chose her Caste and her job, and just like that, her life drastically changed. And she loved it. Designer clothes, exclusive parties – she hacked herself into those parties – meeting the royal family and having the Prince falling for her wasn't that hard. All she had to do was lie and make her life as interesting as possible. But now that the Selection was underway, she was slowly losing her chance to become the next Empress of Illéa. She had to make it work. Alec had to choose her.

"Good," she said, walking away to the kitchenette, she opened the fridge. "Ugh, 3D-Printed food, I hate that," she mumbled. "Don't you have any real food in here?" she called back to Dax. But he was already engrossed in his hacking and didn't hear her. "Fine, I'll just eat this." She took out the food between two fingers and put the printed meat and processed mashed potatoes in a plate and in the microwave. She waited three minutes, checking the Feeds on her contacts. She chuckled when she saw pictures of Prince Austen at the beach being attacked by seagulls. _What an idiot he was_ , she thought. _Good thing he's only the Spare_.

The microwave beeped and Calliope took out the food and sat at the table. She forked a piece of fake mashed potatoes and brought it to her mouth, and as predicted, it was awful, without any taste. It was like eating dirt mixed with paper…

-x-

Prince Austen, after being chased by seagulls and happy viewers who put the images on the Feeds, headed back to the Palace in his private Hovo. During the ride back home, he checked the Feeds and was happy to see he made the headlines, again. He would do anything for the attention, really. Especially since everyone was talking only about Alec and his stupid upcoming Selection.

Once the Hovo stopped in front of the Palace's main entrance, he headed to the fifth floor, where the kitchen and storage rooms were. He knew his way down there and walked directly to the freezer room. He put his thumb on the PrintBox – he had paid a lowly Hacker to have his fingerprint in the freezer and fridge database – and the door popped open. Cold mist escaped the freezing room, but he quickly went inside and closed the door behind him. There were rows and rows of frozen food, but Austen went all the way to the back of the room, to the ice cream section and chose two boxes of his favorite flavors, raspberry and pistachio. He took the boxes and walked out of the freezer.

"Cold, cold, cold," he said, running to the Vacuum Elevator and back to his room. He hid in his bathroom, sat on the floor near the giant bubble bathtub and opened both boxes.

"Crap, I forgot a spoon," he mumbled. He grunted and headed back into his room, where he gently tapped the table for the touch screen to appear. He ordered a spoon, and while he was at it, he also ordered a bottle of bourbon and a glass to go with it. His orders were never questioned and they arrived in his personal Vacuum box next to his bed. He grabbed the items and went back to the bathroom – he closed the door behind him – and sat on the floor where his ice cream was waiting. He poured himself a glass and scooped a spoonful of pink ice cream.

He lifted his glass to toast. "Hope you're proud of me, dad," he mumbled before taking a sip of the burning amber. He quickly ate some ice cream to calm the itch in his throat. That was easy: one sip of the liquor, one spoonful of ice cream. First the pink, next the green one.

Prince Austen was always the "spare", and thus didn't get the same attention as Alec or even Avonlea. Alec didn't have to do anything to get it: he was the next Emperor of Illéa. And Avonlea was the only daughter, a fashion icon and loved by everyone. But him? He was just the second one. The replacement in case the first one died. Or abdicated, which he couldn't really do. So he was left to eat ice cream, drink his father's old bottles, and fight for the attention. If his parents wouldn't give him that, then he would look elsewhere. He found the attention on the Feeds, and in women's arms. He used them like he old tissues, throwing them away after a few nights. The longest he ever had a "girlfriend" was a week.

Some admired his passion for women. Others said he was heartless… "You can't fall in love when your heart has been broken," he would say. Not out loud, of course. No. Only he knew this. Who would think a bright young man like him, who had a passion for life and women was so broken? Not even Avonlea knew about this.

When Austen realized the bottle of bourbon was empty, he was licking the last spoonful of raspberry ice cream. His head was spinning hard and he had trouble getting back on his feet. He wobbled to his bed and fell face first on his pillows. It was comfortable enough and didn't want to leave. He closed his eyes to stop the spinning and sleep quickly got hold of him

"Austen?" someone called out to him, shaking his shoulder. "Austen, wake up." It was a female voice, familiar, but his head was buzzing like a Bot who was out of batteries.

"Woah," he mumbled. "Not too loud," he said, turning on his back. He looking up and saw Avonlea sitting on his bed. "What are you doing here?" he asked, his words slurring together.

"You missed dinner," she simply said. "Just wanted to check on you."

Austen chuckled, but it made him nauseous. "So what? I'm only Alec's replacement," he mumbled. "They don't need me all the time."

She sighed. "Austen. This is the third time in two weeks you skipped dinner. And you know how important to mom and dad these family dinners are." She rolled her eyes. "So don't give me the 'I'm the Spare' speech." She wrinkled her nose. "And you reek of alcohol. Damnit, Austin. Pull yourself together; and go take a shower. We have guests in ten days coming over."

"Whatever," he mumbled turning his back to his twin sister. "You're involved in the Selection. So is Alec. I'm not. So leave me alone." He closed his eyes, hoping she would go away when the darkness enveloped him.

"Suit yourself," she said walking away. "I have work to do."

* * *

 _Hey ;)_

 _thanks for reading the third chapter ;) I'm glad you like this story enough to continue reading^^_

 _And thanks for the reviews! I already have 5 girls, and three reserved spots... Continue to send them in, keeping in mind that this word is highly High-Tech!_

 _And don't forget to give me your Pinterest Username when you reserve a spot or when you send me your girl ;)_

 _Thanks and see you soon!_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

A week later, on Friday, a few hours before the Report, Prince Alec saw an Ad' on the PlexiDome over Angeles. 'Don't forget to immerse yourself in the Holo Report, tonight at 6pm! You might be the next Selected lady!' it said.

Alec sighed. How on earth would he manage 35 girls? Let alone the ever constant HoloCams that will be hovering everywhere at every moment during the Selection, giving the people of Illéa a constant Feed on what was happening inside the Palace. Thirty HoloCam Techs would be monitoring a HoloCam each, and a group of three Visual Engineers would be making sure the Live Holos would be interesting.

There were some rules about the HoloCams during the Selection: like avoiding the Fifteenth floor or keeping to public areas in the Palace – no bedrooms, unless invited to. But still. Having small orbs hovering everywhere around you, at all times, taking in everything for a 360° radius was unnerving. He could take the Report, or Interviews or Public Pictures to put on the Feeds. But he was not like his brother Austen. Austen wouldn't have a problem with this constant hovering of HoloCams. He would enjoy it immensely. But not Alec. He liked his privacy. Now, everything worth showing to the people was going to be out there.

But he still had a whole week of freedom in front of him, before the girls arrived.

-x-

He headed to his sister's room and knocked twice.

"Who is it?" she asked irritated.

"Santa Claus," he said entering uninvited. "How are those lessons coming up?" he asked, sitting on her bed.

Avonlea rolled her eyes. "I clearly have more interesting things to do, to be honest. This is bullshit."

He chuckled. "Tell me about it."

"No but seriously," she continues. "Who the hell wants to learn all that? Etiquette, protocol, history, bla bla bla. No one is going to listen to me. I'm the worst teacher in the universe!"

"Then make it so they listen," he said, falling back on the bed. "Show me what you have."

She handed him the tablet she was working on, and he picked a random place and started reading aloud. " _Posture is everything. You must sit straight up with an egg-width distance between your back and the seat, and your chin parallel to the floor. Your legs should_ -" he stopped short. "Okay, this is boring," he admitted.

"See? I'm the worst for this!"

"Make it funny, I don't know," he shrugged. "Tell them about the time you slouched in your chair in front of the Asian Emperor and his family and how dad lost the treaty he was about to make the Emperor sign. That's funny."

"No, it's not," she said with a ghost of a smile. "The treaty was off, remember?"

"But then dad made you apologize in Chinese, and the Emperor thought it was the cutest thing ever and he gave dad the treaty. Seriously. You can talk about things like that. They'll remember."

"Alec, I was twelve years old."

"So what?" He chuckled. "Now that I gave you some advice on your lessons, any last words for me before I select them tonight and make a fool of myself in front of the entire world?"

She shifted in her chair to look at him. "Pick good ones?" she said lamely and he rolled his eyes at her. She thought a moment. "Maybe be careful of your reaction when you see their faces on the Holoscreen. Keep the pokerface you mastered so well," she said sarcastically. "Even if she's pretty, or not, just give them all the same smile. I promise tonight, after dinner, we can take all the files and get drunk and talk about how pretty, fat, ugly, blonde, or whatever else they are."

He chuckled. "With Austen. It'll be more fun."

"Yeah," she said slowly, remembering in what state he was a few days ago, then looked on the bottom right of the field of vision to check the time. "We should get ready for the Report," she said lamely. "Damn, I don't envy you."

"Thanks," he said, getting up from the bed. "See you later, sis'," he said, ruffling his little sister's hair, only getting a groan and a slap from her. He chuckled and walked away.

"The door, you idiot!" she called out to him, but he only laughed and continued his way. She sighed, closed the door and went to her ScreenWardrobe to pick an outfit for the Report. "Dresses," she ordered vocally. Every single dress in her collection showed up on the screen. There wasn't enough space, she had to scroll right to see them all. After careful consideration – fifteen minutes later – Avonlea chose a black and white long sleeve high-low dress poofing at the waist, short enough to show her perfect legs, and long enough in the back to trail behind her. She loved to be fantastic; and it might help the attention not to be only on Alec. The dress appeared pressed and ready a few seconds later on the hanger in her wardrobe. She paired it with some golden shoes, and giant pearl earrings.

-x-

Alec stood in front of his ScreenWardrobe, unable to decide what to wear, and honestly not really caring. He debated with his inner self to flee with one of his Harleys, hide at the bottom of the swimming pool, or selecting the girls. He opted for the latter, which annoyed him to the highest point. He scrolled through his numerous suits on the screen, but couldn't decide. How was he supposed to dress to select the girls? Casual? Formal? Simple? Elaborate?

"Joel," he called to his valet who was waiting by the door for any instruction. "Tell me what I should wear. I have no idea."

"Sir," Joel Li said, walking over. "In my humble opinion, I think you should-"

Just then, the door opened, and the blue-eyed and blond Empress walked in, as regal as ever in her dark gray lace gown.

"Thank you, Li. You can go," she simply said. The valet bowed from the waist and exited the room walking backwards, never showing his back to the Empress.

"Something wrong, Alec?" she asked, resting a hand on her eldest son's shoulder.

Alec shrugged. "I have no idea what to wear, and I'm not ready for tonight…"

"Well," Beatrix said, "I can help you with your outfit." Without waiting for an answer from Alec, she scrolled in her son's digital wardrobe until she found the one she was looking for. She clicked on the screen and it appeared in the vertical opening next to the screen.

"Are you sure about this one?" Alec asked, eyeing the outfit suspiciously. He didn't even know he owned something like that.

"Yes, I'm sure," she said, taking the hanger from the railing. "Put it on," She gently ordered. "You'll look perfect in it."

Alec sighed and took the suit. He felt awkward changing in front of his mother, so he quickly walked to the bathroom to change. Once he was ready, he straightened his shoulders. "Mirrors," he ordered out loud, and all the walls in the bathroom shifted to become as clear and reflective as mirrors. He looked at himself but wasn't sure at all about the outfit. It was a shiny crisp white – everything was white and shiny, from the pants, to the dress shirt to the tie, and everything else. He walked out back to his room, to join his mother.

"I look like a groom," he said, unconvinced.

"That's exactly what I was going for," she said smoothly. "I want the ladies to know that this is some serious business, and that they will be competing for your hand in marriage. This is not just a game, although it may sound like it. Your future is being played out tonight, and this includes a wedding, marriage, and a wife." She smiled at Alec and walked around the room. "Now, when you select the ladies, don't give out anything. Keep a smile, don't look surprised or happy about who is selected. You'll have enough time to do that once they are all here, and in private."

"Private?" Alec snorted. "We are- No, I am going to be filmed by the HoloCams every single minute of this Selection. I will not have any privacy."

"That's not true," she said, looking into her son's piercing blue eyes. "Yes, there will HoloCams at all times, but they will not send the Holos Live to the public. The best parts of every day will be singled out and showed before the Friday Report. Then, you and the Ladies will be interviewed on the images we will all have seen."

"But I thought-"

"There was a change of plans," she cut him. "I demanded it be to this way, so you will have more privacy."

"But what about the Feeds? The girls will be able to post on the Feeds at all times."

"No. The network will turn off most of the signals coming in and out of the Palace, from the girl's Contacts, but not ours. And we will still be able to communicate within the Palace, you with the girls, the girls together, and you with us. But it'll be a black-out for what comes in and out for them."

"It can he hacked," Alec tried.

"Our best Computer Engineers have put up impenetrable firewalls around the Network, and they will be monitoring everything. Don't worry about a single thing, Alec. Everything is taken care of." She looked at her son to make sure every inch of him was perfect. "Tie your hair in a tight bun. You'll look more serious than when you have your hair down." He complied and she nodded in appreciation. "Good. Now let's get go." She looped her arm in his and they walked to the Vacuum Elevator to the fourth Level, where the Report Studio was, and the lucky Live audience was already waiting.

Alec took a deep breath and walked on the stage…

* * *

 ** _Hey lovelies!_**

 ** _First things first: THANK YOU SO MUCH for the girls (and promise of girls) you already sent me! they're all so amazing, and I can't wait to get this Selection going! And THANK YOU for your reviews, too (keep them coming, it help me know what you think of the_** ** _story, and what you want to know^^)_**

 ** _As you might have understood, Alec will be selecting the girls in the next chapter... So I'll need your forms before the end of the week (or the Week-end if you need!). There are still 4-5 remaining spots for girls, so don't hesitate to submit a girl ;) the form and more info are on my profile..._**

 ** _And last but not least: LittleMysteries is also writing a Selection SYOC, and she still needs many characters! so please, please, please, go check her story and submit a character! ;) Here's her story:_** s/12903729/1/Learning-to-Love-Again-Female-SYOC

 ** _OK... I'll see you next chapter (Please send your girls in!) BYEE_**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Although Alec was used to being on the Report every single week, he was still nervous to be on this one. Normally, he didn't have to say anything, unless Clyde Volt, the Report Host, had expressively told him beforehand what he wanted from him. And it was usually either his father or his mother addressing the nation. Austin was frequently asked to talk about one thing or another that appeared in the feeds during the week, and Avonlea sometimes talked about her new amazing look and gave a beauty advice to the girls out there. But Alec? He was a private person.

But that night was going to be entirely him, and him alone. His father might still say a couple words in the beginning, but Alec was pretty much alone on this one. He stuffed his fists in his pockets, staring at the red curtains that would open with the opening credits, as always.

"Ready, big brother?" Austin said, giving Alec a slap on the back. "Lots of pretty girls, just for you. How lucky," he said. Alec could almost decipher sarcasm in his tone.

"Shut up," he replied. "You know how much I hate this."

"Why? Because you have to actually talk to people and have real human interaction with strangers?" Alec shrugged his brother's hand off of him. "Oooh, scary," Austen added with a sly grin. "I can help," he said.

"No thanks," Alec replied. "I'm old enough to take care of myself."

"Suit yourself," Austin said, shrugging and walking away to his designated plush seat.

A minute later, Alec joined him and Avonlea walked in the room, as fantastic as ever, her chin high, and shoulders straight. She sat in between her two brothers, squeezing Alec's arm.

"It's gonna be okay," she said. "You're just picking forms out of boxes or something."

"Yeah," Austin added. "All you have to do is read names. It's gonne be okay," he said, mimicking his sister.

"Be nice," Avonlea said, raising an eyebrow. "This is not the moment."

"Oh, come on," Austen replied, faking to be offended. "I was just trying to loosen up the mood. But whatever."

The three of them were silent until Clyde Volt came over.

"You okay, Your Highness?" he asked Alec, who nodded once, keeping his serious face. "Good," Clyde continued. "All you have to do is follow my lead. There will be huge PlexiBowls arranged around the stage, in alphabetical order of the Provinces. You can either follow that order, start from the end, or pick at random. Once you've chosen a form from a PlexiBowl, it'll be taken away so you don't pick twice in it." He chuckled, his glitter black suit reflecting the light as his shoulders moved. "Wear this," he said giving him a golden bracelet. "It'll scan the chip in the envelope and the picture of the girl will appear on the Holoscreen behind you as you open the envelope, and then read the name, and Caste. And that's it."

"Sounds easy enough," Alec said, unsure. "Where do I put the envelope once it's opened?"

Clyde smiled, the stage lights dancing in his brown eyes. "There will be a PlexiBowl on the table in the center, you put them there."

Alec nodded, his heart racing faster than before. "Okay."

Clyde checked the time on his Contacts. "Three more minutes," he said, and then walked away, to talk to some of the HoloCam Techs, telling them where he wanted them to film and going over details with them.

"Thirty seconds," the Stage Tech called out, reminding everyone to take his seat and be ready to put on a smile.

Alec's leg went up and down really fast. Avonlea put her hand on his knee to calm him down.

"Ten Seconds!" The Stage Tech said. "Five, four, three, two, one!" he whispered and the red velvet curtains opened smoothly to reveal the PlexiBowls and the cheering Live Audience. Alec and his siblings put on their best smiles. They were really good at this.

"Hello, Illéa!" Clyde said, almost jumping on the stage from the side. "Tonight might be the greatest night yet," he said in his bubbly-Report-voice, "so you might want to make yourself comfortable, wherever you are." He flashed the audience a smile, knowing a HoloCam was filming him directly. "Before we get to the interesting part," he said with a wink, "our great Emperor has a few words to say." He turned to look at Theodore Eugene Schreave. "Your Majesty?"

The Emperor smiled, stood and walked over to the center of the stage.

"I remember the night I had to select the young ladies for my own Selection," he started. "And I know how you must all be nervous and anxious to know if your name will be selected or not." He paused. His salt and pepper hair shined in the stage light. "I wish you all good luck, and will be looking forward to meet you." He smiled to the ladies watching the Holo and walked back to his seat next to his beloved wife.

Clyde came back. "All right," he said, almost rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "Let's get this Selection started, shall we?"

The Live Audience cheered and clapped, and Clyde turned to Alec. "Your Highness? Would you please join me here?"

Alec took a deep breath, kept his poker face smile and joined Clyde Volt in the middle of the stage, standing just behind the 35 huge PlexiBowls.

"Okay," Clyde said. "The honor is yours," he flashed him a smile and backed away to the side of the stage, abandoning Alec to his selection…

He took a deep breath and went to the first PlexiBowl and dived his arm to the middle of the pile and took out an envelope. As he opened it, his bracelet scanned the chip in it and showed a picture on the Holoscreen behind him.

"From Allens: Petra Natalia Priel Lazar, Caste 6." He turned around and saw a brunette girl with a wide smile. _Really? Caste 6? Great start,_ he thought sarcastically, but kept his poker face smile, like his mother had said.

He went to the second PlexiBowl and stopped his hand just before he touched the envelopes. "Actually, I'm going to keep Angeles for the end," he teased, and went to another random one, deciding not to follow the alphabetical order.

"From Likely: Elizabeth Quinn Woodson, Caste 2." The girl had bright blue eyes and very soft smile. _Good, a Two,_ Alec thought, putting the envelope in the Bowl on the table.

"From Sonage: Callisto Mayfair, Caste 3." Alec had never seen red hair this long! They seemed to go on forever in the picture! Her green eyes stood out on her pale skin

"From Yukon: Veenahann von Aslar, Caste 2." He paused, looking at the name again. "Sorry if I mispronounced your name," he said to a hovering camera, and flashed it a smile for the girl. The picture showed blue eyes and light auburn hair. _Good, not too many low Castes, for now._

The next few ones from Denbeigh, Sumner, Atlin and Clermont blurred all together. _Is it me or do they all look the same?_ Alec thought placing the eighth envelope in the PlexiBowl. _Twenty-seven more to go._ He squared his shoulders and made sure his dashing smile was still in place. He tried to focus more.

"From Columbia," he continued. "Katia Mercer, Caste 4." A brunette girl with dark blue eyes and a brightening smile stared back from the Holoscreen. Alec stared a second too long than necessary and then put the envelope away.

"From St-George: Danielle Edith Haynes, Caste 3." _Another redhead,_ he thought. But this one had big brown eyes and freckles all over her face.

"From Hansport: Yana Delilah Nikolayeva, Caste 7." Alec couldn't suppress the surprise on his face. _Caste 7? What the hell?_

The next few ones were lost to him, still wondering how a Seven had been Selected. Did the invites really went to the lowest Castes? Would there be an Eight? How should he treat them?

Five – or was it six or even seven? – girls were selected while he was lost in his thoughts. He hoped he kept his smile all the time.

"From Calgary: Xandra Eris Vanderson, Caste 2." A brunette girl with long hair and forest green eyes looked back at him from the screen. The name struck a bell in his mind. But why?

"From Paloma: Verramine von Aslar, Caste 6." This time, he frowned, unable to keep his pocker face. _Wait what? There already was a 'von Aslar' girl, before._ But before he could dwell on that, he looked at the picture on the Holoscreen and saw that she was really beautiful, too. His mind was completely mixed up. He put the envelope away.

He couldn't stop thinking about those two girls, who were they? Were they even related?

And before her knew it, there was only one PlexiBowl left. He walked toward it and paused. "Angeles," he said. "I told you I'd keep you for the end," he smiled slyly and dived his arm to the bottom of the PlexiBowl, twirled the eveloped and picked one at random in the middle. His bracelet scanned the chip and he read the name at the same time the picture appeared on the Holo Screen. _How is that possible?_

"From Angeles: Calliope Violet Norwood." This time, too, he couldn't hide the surprise on his face… Was this a total coincidence? Or did she really hack the system? But how could she? Alec stared at the picture, unable to tear his eyes from his girlfriend – or should he say 'friend with benefit'.

The picture disappeared and Clyde Volt jumped back on the stage, startling Alec from his thought.

"Well, there you have it!" he said, excited more than anyone. "Ladies who have been selected," he started. "Someone from the Palace will come see you this week, and you will be coming over on Thursday. So the next Report will be an evening to meet you all!" He paused, taking his breath. "Until then, have a great week!"

The curtains were drawn closed and the HovoCams went off, hovering back to their Technicians. Alec still stood in the middle of the stage.

"Are you okay?" Clyde asked him.

Alec nodded. "Did you see the last one?" he asked, afraid of the answer. Was he dreaming or not?

"I did," Clyde said carefully. "But I'm still not sure if it's a good thing or not."

"Neither do I," Alec replied, stuffing his fists in his pockets. "I should go," he mumbled and headed to the exit door, joining his parents and siblings in the Vacuum Elevator. He avoided eye contact with any of them, staring at his shiny white shoes.

Neither of them spoke, but Theodore and Beatrix exchanged a knowing look and nodded. They knew Alec needed some time to process all this…

* * *

 _ **Heyyy ;)**_

 _ **So there it is, the Selection is starting... AAAHHHAHAAA!**_

 _ **THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU WHO SENT ME A GIRL** (or 2) **THEY'RE ALL AMAZING! I can't wait to write this story with all your amazing ideas! :D** (I'm still waiting for 5 full forms, but take your time, I'll start writing with the ones I already have^^ just don't take 3 months! haha!)_

 _ **So the SYOC is closed now... sorry!**_

 _ **And thanks for your reviews, keep them coming, I love to see what you think, what you liked to not** (it helps me write better stories!^^)_

 _ **See ya in chapter 6! ;)**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Later that evening after an awkward dinner, Alec was alone in his room, lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling, his hands behind his head. His long brown hair was sprawled all around his head, and the Air Conditioning was on – there was no way to open the windows. He didn't want to think about his Selection. All he wanted was to dig a hole somewhere and hide there until all was over. Boy, how he hated interactions with strangers.

"Ding dong," Avonlea said, walking in his room unannounced. "We're here to cheer you up," she added.

Austen followed behind. "And we brought Champaign," he said.

Alec snorted without even looking up. "I'm going to need something stronger than that."

Austen grinned. "Good thing I also brought some _Pinot Noir des Charentes_ , then. And some Ice Cream, too…"

Alec finally looked up, his interest piqued by the name of his favorite French wine. "You didn't," he said, then grinned. "Mom's going to kill you."

"I'm the spare, doesn't matter if I die," he said sarcastically, and Avonlea rolled her eyes.

Then, Alec saw how they were dressed. "Seriously? The Onesies?"

Avonlea grinned. "Not my best fashion choice," she said, "but desperate times call for desperate measures."

"You can say that again," Alec said, rolling his eyes.

"Here's yours," Austin said, tossing the black Onesie to Alec. "Put it on."

Alec caught it mid-air and rolled his eyes. "Do I have to?"

"Yes," the two others said at the same time.

These Onesies were kind of a joke, given by their cousins a couple years before at Christmas. They were all black and identical but for what was written on the back: 'Princess', 'Prince#1' and 'Prince#2', in pink, light blue, and light green respectively, with a golden crown or tiara in golden thread. They never wore them except for special occasions, and this was a _very_ special occasion…

Alec came back a few minutes later in his black 'Prince#1' Onesie and Avonlea chuckled.

"Let's take a picture," she said, going to the touch screen on the wall. She selected the _Picture_ option and all three of them stood in front of the wall, making funny faces. Except Alec. He stared at the wall with a raised 'not amused' eyebrow.

"Okay, you're done?" Alec asked.

"Of course not," she said, taking out a small USB chip the size of a fingernail out of her pocket. "I've got all the Selected files on this thing, and we're going to go through them."

"No, absolutely not," Alec replied, crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't want to go through all of them again."

"You don't really have a choice, actually," Austin said, taking the chip from Avonlea and inserting it in the slot on the table. He tapped the table for the touch screen, and then dragged the HovoScreen next to Alec's bed, where he was lying again. The twins sat on the floor, and Avonlea filled three flutes of Champaign and gave them around.

"The _Pinot_ will come later," she said when Alec eyed the glass suspiciously.

"Ooh, look at this one," Austin said, already moving the files and looking for an interesting girl. "She's from New Asia or something. Hyo-Joo Nari Chee, Caste Three. Or however the hell you pronounce that," he chuckled. "Her skin looks so soft!"

"Shut up," Avonlea said, shoving him.

"No, but seriously! Look at her milky skin. It's like it was photoshopped or something."

Avonlea leaned over and zoomed the picture with two fingers. "Oh my God, you're right! She looks like a porcelain doll," she said sipping her Champaign. "Where is she from, again?" she asked.

Austin check the file. "Baffin. No wonder she's so pale. It's only snow and ice, over there." He chuckled. "Okay, next one." He picked another file at random and read the name. "Ha, another one from the north. Eryn Amalia Vega, Caste Three, too, and she's actually from Whites." He silently read a few lines. "This is amazing," he said. "She's actually from the Zyre, the Floating city in Bay of Nome."

"You're kidding," Alec said, propping himself on his elbow and looking at the HovoScreen. "I've never been there," he added. "Can you find anything on Zyre on the Feeds?"

"Of course, I can," Austin said, typing away a few commands. "Out of the three of us, I'm the best hacker."

Avonlea burst out laughing. "That's not hacking, that's looking something up on the Network," she said ruffling his brown hair.

"I can call that however the hell I want," he said, shoving his sister away. "Here it is," he said. "It's really floating on the ice-cold waters, and relies only on wind, water and solar energy."

"Like everywhere else," Alec pointed out.

"Yeah, but apparently they were the first to create a _floating_ city in Illéa. And the only ones." He paused, frowning. "How come nobody else did this?"

"Who cares," Avonlea said. "Pick another one."

Austin obeyed and picked another file. "Caste Five, from Kent: Blair Ivy Gordon."

"Five? What does she do?" Avonlea asked, drinking her Champaign.

"She's a Nostalgist," Austin said. "Working for old people. Boring," he added

"You're a horrible person, Austin, you know that?" she said, shoving him. He dramatically fell to the floor.

"I know," he said, lying on the white carpet. "Not my fault. You got all the 'good people' genes. I didn't get any of those."

Alec chuckled from his bed. "That's for sure. Oh, check the two girls who have the same name. That was weird."

"Oh, yeah!" Avonlea said, drinking the last drops of her glass. And since Austin was still sprawled on the floor, she looked herself for those two files. "The von Aslar girls," she said. "They really do look alike, but one is a Six, an Octagerian Service Provider, and the other a Two, a Nano-Weapons specialist. This really weird."

"Cousins maybe?" Austin suggested.

"No," Alec said, looking at the pictures from his bed. "They look too much alike to be cousins. I'd say sisters."

"Twin sisters, then," Avonlea said. "Their birthdays are exactly the same."

Austin flashed a sly grin to Alec. "You'll actually have to talk to them to know what happened."

"Shut up," Alec said, lying back on the bed and covering his eyes with his arm.

The twins shared a look. Avonlea finished Alec's glass of Champaign – he hadn't even touched it – and filled it with the _Pinot Noir_. "Here, drink this," she said, giving the glass back to her older brother. "You definitely need it."

Alec took the glass and sat up in his bed. The amber liquid burned his throat, but that was what he liked. It took his thoughts away from his impending Selection.

"Thalia Lisetta Moreau, Caste 3from Tammins," Avonlea continued.

Austin sat back up and looked at the picture. "Ooh, cute. I could totally go-"

"Austin!" Avonlea stopped him.

"What?" he said innocently. "I was going to say I could totally go on a date with her." He looked at his brother. "Aren't you going to share with your little brother?"

"Yeah, dream up, kid."

Avonlea looked back at Thalia's file. "Oh, this is cool! She's a Geoengineer! She's a weather control specialist."

"Huh," Austin said. "That's actually pretty cool."

Alec filled his glass with _Pinot Noir_ for the second time and sat down on the floor in the middle of the twins. It was a funny picture, the three of them in black Onesies in a white room in front of a HovoScreen. It was like when they were small children, watching a HoloAction for kids in matching pajamas.

"Addison Cecilia Porter, Caste 4," Alec said, going through the next file himself. The Twins exchanged a grin. It was working. "She actually has beautiful blue eyes," he said, zooming in her picture. "And she's a Scientist, kind of," he said. "Solar Technology Specialist." He rested his back on the side of the bed. "Damn, they all have cool jobs, and we're stuck here with a crown on our heads and fake smiles."

When Alec had a couple glasses of alcohol in him, he talked much more.

"Speak for yourself," Avonlea replied. "I have my own Fashion Empire."

"And I have my whole Women Empire?" Austin tried, and the two others laughed.

"You're King of the Feeds," Alec said, chuckling and drank some more. "There's no doubt about that." He leaned forward, looking for the next file. "From Zuni, Jessica Harris, Caste 5." Then he giggled – like actually _giggled_ , due to the alcohol – "She's actually a Lip Designer," he said. "Do you think I should ask her for some advice?" he asked pouting his lips in a kiss. "Or are they already perfect? They're perfect? Aren't they?" He continued making kissing sounds and the Twins burst out laughing. Alec was finally loosening up, mission accomplished.

"Okay, next one," Austin said. "From Midston, Korina Blythe Kirk, Caste 3."

"What's her job?" Avonlea asked, leaning her head on the bed.

"Extinction Revivalist Intern. She's only 19 years old," Austin replied.

"Why would anyone want to bring old animals back?" Alec asked, sipping his third glass. "We have everything we need with 'bots and androids. Who needs a hairy mammoth nowadays, huh?"

Avonlea giggled. "I'd eat the mammoth," she said.

"Why?" Austin replied, a sparkle in his eye. All three of them were getting light-headed and slowly drunk. "It would be less expensive to 3D print processed Mammoth meat than reviving a Mammoth to kill it for its meat."

"True," Alec said, toasting his glass to his brother. "Listen to Reason, Aves."

They giggled.

Austin Looked up the next file. "Francesca Noelle Caldwell, Caste 6from Carolina."

Alec chuckled stupidly. "That's it, I'm calling her Christmas when I see her."

The Twins looked at him awkwardly.

"What? Noelle is the feminine of Noel which means _Christmas_ in French," he shrugged, drinking the _Pinot Noir._

"How do you know that?" Austin asked.

"Common knowledge," Alec replied. "What does she do? Is she a tech or something?"

Avonlea looked at the file. "Nope, Florist and Flower Farmer."

Alec shook his head in confusion. "Nature… Why would anyone need that now?" he asked his words slurring together.

"But she's actually really cute," Austin said, looking attentively at her picture. "You can't just dismiss them because they have weird jobs…"

"Whatever, pick another one," Alec said, taking the bottle. "Damnit, it's empty…"

"Oops, sorry," Avonlea said. "I filled Austin's and mine before you finished it." She flashed him a bright smile. She quickly looked at the screen to avoid Alec's drunken 'wrath'. "Kira May Summerall, Caste 2from Waverly. Ooh," Avonlea said, reading her profile. "She's actually a Broadway actress. Isn't that cool?"

Alec nodded in agreement. "Yeah, pretty cool." Then, he burped. "Oops, sorry, Kira," he said, toasting his empty glass to the picture on the HovoScreen. "How many more do we have to go through right now?" Alec asked. "Because I'm tired."

"Let's just do a couple more, and then we can look at the rest some other time," Austin suggested, already working on the next file. "Eris Iva Findley, Caste 6, From Fennley."

Avonlea giggled. "Findley from Fennley. That's easy. Another Tech or something?"

"Nope, Kitchen help somewhere in Angeles… She must have found a job here instead of Fennley. Must be a pretty good job, though." Austin looked at her picture more carefully. "Hey, I know her!"

Alec rolled his eyes. "You slept with her?"

"No, I didn't," Austin replied, too drunk to be offended. "She works in the Palace Kitchen! I bumped into her once when I was looking for something to eat in the middle of the night… She was still working." He laughed. "That's hilarious."

Avonlea gave Alec a side glance. "You could actually already go meet her."

"I like your sense of humor, Aves," Alec said. "Okay, one last one."

"Another Caste 6," Austin said. "Catiena Elisande Reeves, from Lakedon. A 3D Printing Engineer. And she's actually pretty," he added.

"Okay. That's enough for tonight," Alec said, trying to stand up and falling twice. "Actually I'm going to stay right here." He rested his head on the bed and stayed seated on the floor.

"Let's watch an old HoloAction," Avonlea said, yawning.

"Yes, let's," Austin said, swiping away the file with a flick of his wrist. He typed in a command, and their favorite kid HoloAction showed up on the HovoScreen. It wasn't the same as watching on a HoloScreen, but they were too drunk to make the difference. In a few minutes, they were all fast asleep, Austin and Avonlea each on Alec's shoulder. Alec snored, but the other didn't hear him, lost in Morpheus' arms and far, far away…

A few hours later, Alec woke up with a back pain and a headache, and he noticed his siblings sleeping on him. He chuckled and carried them, both half asleep, on his bed. They finished the night in a tangle of legs and arms, like when they were little kids and pleaded for a sleepover all together. Alec fell asleep again, thankful for his two little brother and sister… What would he do without them?

* * *

 **Hey! Thanks for ready this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it, because I had a blast writing it^^**

 **I wanted to thank you all for your reviews and for sticking with me!**

 **And also THANK YOU for all of you who made your Pinterest Sections really cool! If you wanna go see the characters and world building Pinterest board, go here:** _www . pinterest . ch/AbizeauAuthor/ff-yesterday-meets-tomorrow/_ **(without the spaces...)**

 **Okay, staring tomorrow I'll be in exams, so I don't know how often I'll be able to write/update, so please be lenient with me^^**

 **Thanks again and see ya in Chap 7! ;)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

A week later, on Thursday morning, Alec was a ball of nerves. The girls would be coming at any moment, now. He made an effort to stay hidden and confined to his room, looking out the window. Around eight o'clock, the first HovoCar arrived and landed on the Main Entrance Terrace, on the ninth floor. From his vantage point, he counted four girls coming out of the hovering vehicle.

"It's starting," he mumbled under his breath and watched as they walked on the artificial lawn towards the Entrance.

-x-

"Welcome!" Princess Avonlea said, flashing them her best smile. "You're the first ones to arrive. Please follow me."

The girls looked at each other and followed the Princess down the hall and into a well-lit white room – they would notice soon enough that every square inch of the Palace was white – where small booths with a table, a high-tech mirror and a hanging rail with different dresses awaited them.

Avonlea took out her portable tablet. "Please scan your thumb right here," she said to the first one, who obeyed. _Elizabeth Quinn Woodson, Likely_ the Tablet read after scanning her thumb. "Good morning, Lady Elizabeth," Avonlea said. "You will take the Booth number 7, over there," she pointed. Elizabeth nodded and headed to where she was directed, looking everywhere, not missing anything. A Designer Make-Over Artist quickly started his job on Elizabeth, convincing her to inject collagen in her cheekbones to make them plumper.

"Welcome, Lady Eris," Avonlea said to the second one. "You have been assigned Booth number 10." Eris curtsied elegantly, used to dealing with the royals in the Palace. She already had a small heads-up on etiquette due to her job in the Royal Kitchen. Every staff member of the Palace had a small course on Etiquette and Protocol in case they met the Royals.

"Hello, Lady Callisto," Avonlea said to the third. "Welcome to the Palace." She checked the tablet. "Your Booth is number 2, right over here."

"Thank you, Your Highness," Callisto said, flipping her red hair out of the way. It wasn't anything bitchy. Just getting them out of the way since they seemed to be never-ending!

Avonlea looked at the fourth girl. "Calliope," she said, flashing her a bright – fake – smile. "What a surprise."

"Your Highness," Calliope curtsied sarcastically. "It's an honor to meet you."

"Don't play this game with me, Calliope," Avonlea said, keeping her bright smile. "You better be careful here. Your Booth is number 5."

Calliope smirked and walked proudly to the fifth booth, meeting her Make-over artist, who cut the split ends of her hair and made an elegant make-up to make her cognac colored eyes stand out.

-x-

Avonlea walked out of the room to take care of a few things on her tablet away from the girls.

"Sooo," Austin said, joining her in the hall, his hands in his pockets. "How are the girls?"

"Only four of them are already here. The ones closest to Angeles. They'll arrive by groups of four or five from regrouped Provinces."

"So Calliope's already here, since she's from Angeles."

Avonlea shot him a glare. "Yes. And she's so smug about it. I hope she won't wreak any havoc during this Selection. I wouldn't put it beneath her to do it."

Austin chuckled. "You never really liked her, did you?"

"Nope," Avonlea said. "Not one bit. There was always something off about her. I don't know what Alec finds so appealing with her." She paused a moment. "I just hope he chooses someone else."

Thirty minutes later, five more girls arrived. And again, Avonlea welcomed them and guided them to their booths. When they were finished, their Make-Over artists sent them to the Photographer who would take a picture of their new look – to show the 'before-after' pictures to the public in a couple days – and then to the Women's Room where they would all be waiting for the 35 girls to be ready.

Around noon, all the girls had arrived and were pressed and ready. Avonlea took a deep breath and pushed the double doors open. "Hello again," she said, and all heads turned to focus on her. "Please follow me to your first dinner here, where you will have your first lesson." She turned around, and the girls followed her down the hall in a loud and messy group. Avonlea sighed. There would be a lot of work to do…

-x-

After a long light lunch where Avonlea taught the 35 girls how to sit, eat, talk, and drink like proper ladies, Avonlea straightened her shoulders.

"All right," she started. "This was tedious work, but worth it. I want you all to be this focused during all our lessons together. I will be coaching you until the end of the Selection. So, if you need anything, or if you want to ask something, come to me. Every morning we will meet after breakfast in the Women's Room for some theoretical and practical lessons until lunchtime. The afternoons and evenings will be dedicated to Prince Alec. He will be dating one or two, or more, during the day. Be patient, your turn will come. There are 35 of you." She chuckled. "Any questions?"

Jessica raised her hand, and Avonlea nodded. "So, do we have free time, then, in the afternoons and evenings?"

"Yes. You are free to do whatever you like, as long as you stay within the Palace perimeter, and out of the fifteenth floor. Tomorrow morning, I will send you a map you can use to find your way in the Palace on your Contacts. But this afternoon you will stay to the Women's room. Alec will meet you one by one."

There were gasps throughout the dining room. Avonlea sent them back to the Women's Room and contacted Alec via their private ComSystem on their Contacts.

"To Alec," she ordered he contacts. "Ready when you are," she dictated the message aloud and sent it with a blink.

 _Do I have to?_ came back on her field of vision. She rolled her eyes and chuckled at the same time.

"Yes. They're waiting." she replied. She paced the corridor waiting for him. Five minutes later, he walked out of the Vacuum Elevator and joined her with a sigh. She turned around and smiled at him. "It's gonna be fine, Alec," she said. "They're just girls, they don't bite." She straitened his tie.

"But what do I say?"

"Alec, you're an adult. You'll figure it out. This afternoon is simply about meeting them quickly – max three minute per girl – and kind of test the waters, you know? If there are any you don't like after that, you can eliminate them."

Alec nodded, squaring his shoulders. "Okay. So how did you plan this? Do I go alone in there with the wolves? Or do they come out one at a time?"

"One at a time. And you can decide the order."

"I have no idea. At random?"

"Okay," Avonlea said. "You can go in the Men's Room, and I'll send the girls one at a time to you."

He nodded, unsure.

"You can do this," she said. "Once you get to know them, it'll be easier. You know how it is with new people, right?"

Alec frowned. "Why do I feel like you're babying me, Aves?"

She smirked. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Now go, and I'll send the first girl." She planted a quick kiss on his cheek and then gently shoved him away in the Men's Room direction. Once he was gone, she opened the list of Selected girls on her tablet. "Randomize," she ordered, and the names mixed up to form a new list. She walked to the Women's Room. All the girls looked up, anxious to know who would be first.

"Lady Thalia?"

Thalia Moreau stood and followed Avonlea out of the room with 34 pairs of eyes watching her in silence. As soon as she was out, they could hear the girls chatting excitedly together. Thalia was wearing an elegant simple beige skirt, a black top, paired with black pumps and a golden three-tier necklace.

"This way," Avonlea said. "Don't worry, he doesn't bite. Just be yourself." She smiled to Thalia and opened the door. "Lady Thalia," she said to Alec, introducing her.

Alec stood and Thalia curtsied a little bit clumsily. "Your Highness," she said softly.

"Nice to meet you, Lady Thalia," he said, sitting down on his arm chair. "Please, uh, sit down," he said. _Man, this is so awkward_ , Alec thought. While she sat down on the divan across from him, he quickly looked up the file he had uploaded to his Contacts with the basic info – name, age, Province, job – on the girls, so he wouldn't mix them up and humiliate himself like an old potato. "So," he started. "You're a Geoengineer."

"Yes," she replied.

"That's pretty cool, actually. I wish I could draw clouds, too." _Damn it, that was a stupid thing to say_. "I mean-"

She smirked. "It's fine, Your Highness. People usually don't know what we really do. But I can assure you that there is much more to that than drawing clouds in the sky."

"I can imagine," he said. "But please, call me just Alec."

"Very well," she replied. "But in that case, you can call me just Thalia, too."

"I will." He noticed her soft hazel eyes, and he felt his cheeks slightly blush. He cleared his throat. "Well, I guess that's all the time we have for now, but I'm looking forward to see you again, and talk a bit more about yourself."

She nodded. "Thank you, Your High- I mean Just Alec." She smirked, curtsied again and walked away. Alec chuckled to himself

Avonlea called the next girl. "Lady Xandra, follow me."

A tall brunette girl with forest-green eyes stood and followed the Princess to meet the Prince.

-x-

Alec fidgeted in his armchair, waiting for the next girl to come in, thinking that he should know beforehand who was coming so he could look up the info without staring in the distance like an idiot in front of the girl.

"Lady Xandra," Avonlea said, letting the second girl come in.

Alec totally forgot to check Xandra's info when he saw her. She was wearing a black slip dress with fishnet stockings and black pumps. She wore a black choker and several gold bangles around her wrists. She walked toward him as if she owned the world.

And then he knew why her name had sounded familiar when he read it out. She was often on the feeds, crashing this and that party and wreaking havoc wherever she went. Everyone in the higher spheres of Illéan society knew her and her mother, Leda Vanderson. The most renown socialites in Illéa.

"Lady Xandra," he said. "It's an honor to finally meet the famous Party Girl of the Feeds."

She curtsied. "It's an honor to meet the Crown Prince," she replied. "And please drop the _Lady_. Call me Xandra, for now."

Alec raised an eyebrow in surprise at her bluntness. "Will do." He chuckled. "This Selection will definitely raise your fame on the Feeds," he said.

"It will," she replied, sitting on the Divan without being invited to. "It'll maybe even land me a job as a Reality HoloShow actress, after this. So I suggest you keep me here as long as needed, because my life will change after the Selection."

Alec let out a chuckle. "You're assuming you're not going to be chosen at the end."

She shrugged. "We'll see," she said, and then stood. "I'll see you later, Your Highness," she added, walking away, not giving Alec the chance to say anything else. Once she was gone, he chuckled. _What the hell just happened?_

He only had a minute to compose himself before Avolea brought the next girl. She was a girl from Dakota, a Clone Rancher, but he couldn't really focus on her. Xandra kept coming back to mind, and how she completely controlled the interview. A couple more girls introduced themselves to him, but not making an impression on him.

Then there was Lady Katia Mercer, from Columbia, and he found his focus again.

"Your Highness," she said softly, curtsying elegantly. She was beautiful, with her dark blue eyes and her pink lips. She was wearing a high-low off-the-shoulder burgundy dress, which showed her lean legs, and Alec found himself staring at them longer than necessary.

He cleared his throat. "Lady Katia," he said. "Please have a seat."

"Actually, Your Highness, it's pronounced _Kay-de-a_ if you don't mind," she said, her smile shy but bright.

"Of course not," Alec replied. "I'll try to remember that. And please remind me if I say it wrong again." He chuckled. "I personally hate it when people call me Alex instead of Alec, so I totally relate to that."

Katia blushed and chuckled lightly. "I'll be careful not to call you Alex, then, Your Highness."

"Alec," he corrected her. _Man, I'm going to have to tell them all at the same time to call me only Alec. I'm already tired of repeating that,_ he thought. "So, Katia. Tell me a little about you."

"Um, I like reading, running, and stargazing," she said. "Is there a running track around here?" she asked as an afterthought.

"Um, there's the treadmill in the Gym, on Level 2, or you can go on a terrace and run there, but it's not really big, You'd be running in circles. The treadmill has a giant concave screen and you can chose wherever you want to run: the forest, the beach, a road, anything." He shrugged, realizing that he was babbling. "But then again, I don't know what's better: running in circles or running in the same spot.

Katia chuckled. "Thank you for the information, Alec."

"I'm sorry, but that's all the time we have for now," he said, truly sad about it. "I'll see you later at dinner."

She curtsied and walked away. Alec quickly dictated a message in his notes: _Katia, stargazing._ He would start keeping in mind ideas for dates…

* * *

 **Hiii! Thanks for reading this chapter! Sorry, I didn't want to show all the girls during the interviews, it would have been boring... But next chapter will be the Report, and maybe a first date...**

 **Speaking of first date, go check my profile to _vote on WHO you want Alec to have the first date with_! Vote quickly, I'll be needing that info for this Weekend ;)**

 **Again, thanks for reviewing, I just LOooOoove to read your reviews, they make me grin like an idiot every time^^ And thanks for the girls, and the cool Pinterest board we created!** _Those who made a character and are on Pinterest, don't hesitate to post stuff on the 'Selection Aesthetic' Section if you want^^_

 **For the three girls for whom I still need the form (or part of the form)... could you send it in this weekend? THANKS!**

 **See ya!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

After meeting all of the girl and having a loud dinner with all of them, Alec was drained. He went back to his room, without forgetting to say goodnight, and locked his door. No more lecture from either Avonlea or his mother. He didn't want to see anyone, not even Austin. Or his father. He kicked off his shoes and his uncomfortable suit and went directly to the shower.

"Long shower," he ordered. "Warm water."

From the ceiling rained warm water, and he let it flow down on him. He loved the sensation of the water on his skin. He couldn't understand the people who updated their showers to the latest trend: a PlexiTube in which you were splashed, scrubbed, splashed again, and dried in under three minutes. A long shower or a real bath – rare, these days – was his guilty pleasure. He loved the Zen feeling that came with it. Everyone always wanted to do things faster and better and even faster. Not him. He liked taking his time, especially with this.

When he was done, a good half an hour later, he put on some black sweatpants and a gray t-shirt. He would never show himself dressed like that, but for now, he was alone. He lay down on his bed, his hair still wet, and stared at the ceiling for a moment.

"What the hell did I get myself into?" he mumbled. "How am I supposed to choose a wife among all those girls?" He rubbed his face with his hands and sighed. After five minutes of being motionless on his bed, he gave an order to his Contacts. "Book," he said, and his digital library appeared on his field of vision. With a quick motion of his eyes, he chose the last book he was reading, and picked up where he left off, staring in the distance of the text on his Contacts.

He hadn't read for three minutes when he heard a knock on his door. He frowned, annoyed, but didn't answer. He continued reading. Again, the person knocked. He sighed, but still ignored it. When the person knocked louder for the third time, he finally answered.

"I'm not here," he called out.

"I know you are," a familiar female voice called out. "Can I come in?"

Alec blinked away his book and sighed. "The door's locked, Call. That means I don't want to see people."

"Come on, Alec," she replied soothingly. And then, he heard a small _click_ sound.

"Damnit," he mumbled. He had giving access to Calliope to his room months ago. He should have thought to change that. She walked in, dressed in a little black dress, paired with some black stilettoes and bright red lipstick. She closed the door behind herself and walked slowly but with a purpose to Alec. He was sitting on the side of his bed, and she used that to her advantage. She straddled him, sitting on his lap, and kissed him without any preamble.

Alec kissed her back, but then he broke off the kiss. "Call, you're not supposed to be up here," he said, looking in her cognac brown eyes he knew so well.

She smirked. "I know my way around," she teased him, playing with his still damp hair. "And don't tell me you don't enjoy me."

She did have a point with that. "Maybe," he conceded. "But not right now. You're part of the Selection – and I'm still not sure how you did it – so either you play the game, or you're out." Alec was really annoyed right now.

Calliope raised an eyebrow. "Really. That's how you're going to play this?" She let out a dry chuckle and stood. "Fine. Then I won't give you any reason to kick me out. I'm sorry I disturbed you, _Your Highness_ ," she mocked, curtsying dramatically, showing him her generous cleavage. She walked out of the room, not bothering to close the door.

Alec sighed and locked his door again. "Note to self," he said to his Contacts. "Ask the Palace Tech to change the code of this room." After that, Alec went to bed and fell quickly asleep.

-x-

The next morning, while the girls would be having their lessons with Avonlea, he had a conference with his father and their advisors, like every Friday morning. Once they were all clear on what to tell the people or not, they would have a chat with Clyde Volt so he could prepare the Report for the evening. And this morning was no different.

Expect for one little detail.

"Our spies have reported that there has been an increase in nano-weapons selling on the Black CyberTrade," the of National Security Minister said. "I know the Selection has already begun, but I think we should re-check all the ladies, Your Majesty."

Emperor Theodore frowned. "It has already been done, Sir Markus. But if you deem it necessary, then please proceed."

"And, if I may," Sir Markus continued, "Have their personal bags been checked? Or only their backgrounds and data?"

"Everything that came inside the Palace was double-checked by Security and the best Computer Engineers," another says.

"Did you find anything suspicious?" Sir Markus asked.

Emperor Theodore looked to his Security detail, waiting for his answer.

"Mostly jewelry, personal cosmetics, notebooks, tech devices that have been checked, or pictures of their families," he replied. "However, we did find a tool kit, but since it didn't have anything suspicious in it, we let it in."

Silas Brown, a Nano-Weapons Specialist working for the Royal Family sighed. "With all due respect, Your Majesty, you need to re-check the jewelry and personal cosmetics. You have no idea where people hide nano-weapons these days."

Alec chuckled. "With all due respect, Mr. Brown," he said slyly, "I don't think these girls are dangerous criminals. It would be in their data records and wouldn't have received an invitation. The invitations were only sent to _eligible_ Ladies."

Silas Brown frowned. "Naïveté will be your fall, Your Highness. A lipstick, or a simple necklace pendant, can hide a poisonous blade, or even a tiny bot as small as an ant, and get into your clothes and into your body and kill you. Anything is possible nowadays."

Alec paled, but quickly recomposed himself. "Then, by all means," he said. "You better check their personal belongings again."

-x-

The conference ended, and Emperor Theodore gave full permission to the Head of Security to search the Selected's Rooms. This had to be done as quietly as possible. If anything of the sort got out, it would be disastrous for the Selection and the Royal's public image.

After an hour, the security guards and a couple Computer Engineers came back with three suspicious devices: a white gold expensive pen with a knife in it – and who still even used a pen when everything was digital? – a Designer's belt with a knife on the buckle, and a silver lipstick case with a single-shot weapon in it.

"What is that?" Alec asked, pointing at the silver tube.

"I believe it's called the _Kiss of Death_ , Your Highness," Silas Brown replied. "It's a cyanide pistol that was trending decades ago. It was officially eradicated, but apparently, some are still being sold in contraband in the Black CyberTrade." He turned to the Head of Security. "Have someone trace the weapon. You might find its source."

Mikael Bacchian, the Head of Security, nodded. "Yes, sir."

"But first," Theodore Schreave said, "go get the three girls to whom belong these abominations."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Bacchian replied. Five minutes later, he and three of his men came back with the three girls.

Alec stood next to his father, and The Emperor cleared his throat. "These weapons have been found in your personal belongings." The three girls blushed, and The Emperor smirked. "You didn't think we'd find them this fast, did you?"

"You are accused of treason against the Crown and against your Country," Bacchian said. "You have the right to remain silent," he said cuffing them. "Everything you say can and will be held against you."

"But I didn't even know there was a knife in my pen!" one of the girls said – Alec couldn't even remember her name. "It was a gift from my father!"

"You better keep your mouth shut," Bacchian said. "Take them away," he ordered his men, and the three girls were dragged away.

"Three down, thirty-two more to go," Alec mumbled.

-x-

"Hello, Illéa!" Clyde Volt said, stepping on the stage and waving to the Live Audience and the small hovering orbs – the cameras. "I hope you're all excited to be here tonight, because we have some great things for you. To my left, you can see all the girls, in their most beautiful dresses. Don't they look like a wonderful bouquet of flowers?"

The Audience cheered.

"But before we get to talk to them, let's see some Vids and Photos of the past couple days. They all arrived just yesterday."

On the giant concave screen behind them, the _before-after_ pictures showed up, and the girls giggled at the sight, along with the cheers and whistles of the Audience. A few Vids of the ladies in the make-over booths appeared, too, followed by some footage of their first lessons that morning. They were careful to cut out anything related to the three girls who were taken out of the Selection for treason. Clyde made a few funny comments and everyone laughed.

When the Vids were over, he reclaimed his place in the center of the stage. "Princess Avonlea? Would you like to join me, please?"

Avonlea was surprised Clyde invited her first to talk. She was magnificent in a black tulle dress, with black and gold 3D printed shoes – she liked to design her own shoes – and giant pearls on several bangles of silver bracelets. Her hair and make-up were flawless, as always. The _Goddess of Fashion_.

"Princess," Clyde said, once she was seated on the plush white chair. "How do you feel about this group of girls? You will be coaching them during the entire Selection."

Avonlea smiled gracefully. "They are all wonderful. There is a lot of work to be done, most of them never learned anything about proper etiquette, but they are all fast learners. And I'm grateful for their willingness to learn. For most of them," she added slyly, thinking of a couple who were impossible that day…

"I'm glad to hear that. And you do have a big burden on your shoulders. Prince Alec will choose his wife, but you will shape her into the next Empress."

Avonlea chuckled lightly. "You're right, it's not a small burden."

Clyde thanked her and Avonlea elegantly walked back to her seat. The Report Host called then Prince Austin to join him for a couple questions. Austin was more than happy to comply. And by his bizarre gait, Clyde knew instantly that the Prince had been drinking.

"Prince Austin," he started once he was seated. "What does it feel to have all these women in the Palace?"

"How would I know, Clyde?" Austin replied with a sly grin. "They're not for me. But if they were, I'd clearly overdose. Too much is too much, you know?"

Clyde chuckled nervously. When Austin was drunk on the Report, it was never a good thing. He could say anything and it would be out there. There was no stopping it. Had he known Austin had a couple glasses to much, he wouldn't have asked him for questions.

"Yes, too much is too much indeed," Clyde replied, referring to the alcohol. "Have you personally met any of them yet?" he asked, hoping it was an easy enough question.

"Before the Selection or now?" Austin said, shifting his position in his arm chair. "Because I met Eris once." And seeing Clyde's smile falter, Austin added, "But don't worry, nothing happened. I just bumped into her, and we talked. I don't jump on every living thing, you know?"

"Okay, thank you very much," Clyde said, and Austin walked away. "Prince Alec?"

Alec took a deep breath and let it out slowly, plastering his dashing smile on his face.

"What about you, Your Highness? Have you already met some of them?"

"All of them," he said. "I had three minutes to meet each one."

"Three minutes? But that's so little time! What can you possibly say in three minutes?"

"Not much," Alec said, chuckling. "That's why I'm looking forward to date them all," he lied. Of course, he was not looking forward to that. After the three girls that got kicked out for treason that morning, he wasn't so sure anymore… Were there other girls who had nano-weapons on them? Invisible weapons?

"Oooh," Clyde said. "And do you already have an idea of who you're going to start with?"

Alec turned his head to look at the ladies – the bouquet of flowers. "I might have an idea, yes," he replied mysteriously, his dashing smile still illuminating his ice blue eyes…

* * *

 **Heyyy! Thanks for your patience! This week was really busy with my exams and all... but one week down, three more to go!**

 **I hope you liked this chapter! and I decided to start the dates next chapter, so you can still go vote on my profile for the FIRST DATE!** _(please use your three votes, it would be great!)_ **Only 7 of you voted, so please go vote!**

 **And again, thanks for the amazing girls, I can't wait to start writing them ;) I re-read ALL the forms today to have in mind your plot ideas and what you wanted for your girls, so I hope you'll like this story with YOUR characters and ideas!**

 **And again, if you want to pin stuff on the "Selection Aesthetic" section on Pinterest, feel free! ;)**

 **Anyway, thanks again for your time reading this chapter and for your reviews! See ya next chapter! :D**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

On Saturday morning, Alec woke up with a headache. Was it due to the wine or the thought of having to start the Selection for real, with a real date, and a real girl? Probably the latter, since he only had two glasses of wine. He rubbed his face and headed to the shower – ordered a quick one – and got ready to tackle the day, one way or another. But he still had a headache. He went to the touch screen and contacted the Palace Doctor, Mr. Marshall, who answered right away, as usual.

"Your Highness," he said through the InterCom. "Is everything all right?"

"Yes," Alec said. "I just need a pill for a headache."

"Have you been drinking last night?" the Doctor asked.

"Just the usual."

"Okay then. Sending a pill."

"Thanks, Doc." Alec turned off the InterCom and a minute later, the pill arrived in the Vacuum Box along with a bottle of water. He downed the pill and the entire bottle and headed to breakfast. Being on the 15thfloor of the Palace, he had to go all the way down to the 8thfloor to the breakfast and lunch dining room. Taking the Vacuum Elevator would have him there in ten seconds. But he needed some more time before seeing the girls, so he opted for the stairs. He knew he would be alone, there.

The 14thfloor was full of empty guest room, in case dignitaries or other Royals came over; the 13thand 12thfloors were where all the Selected had been placed. He hoped there wouldn't be anyone and that they'd all take the Vacuum Elevator.

Unfortunately for him, one did not.

"Lady Hyo-Joo," Alec said, practically bumping into the smiling Asian girl. "You didn't take the Vacuum?"

"Your Highness," she said softly, curtsying a little clumsily. "You haven't either."

Alec chuckled. "No, I like the exercise," he lied. "What about you?"

She blushed a little. "I love this place so much, I just didn't want to miss any of it by taking the Vacuum."

Alec smiled at her softness, and they walked down the stairs in silence for a whole floor, her high heels clicking on the white floor. From the corner of his eyes, and trying not to stare too long, he noticed how flawless and milky her skin was. Was she even real? She was wearing a navy tea-length sleeveless day dress with pink flower printed on it and green leaves. Her long hair – must be nano-tech extensions, since she arrived with a bob – flowing around her shoulders.

"Hey, um," Alec started. "Would you like to join me after breakfast for a date or something?"

Hyo-Joo smiled and blushed. "I'd like that," she said, taking his arm. "What are we going to do?"

He raised an eyebrow. "If you like the Palace this much, I can give you a tour, if you want."

"I'd _love_ that," she replied, excited. "This whole place is so amazing."

"Good, then it's settled. Stay behind after breakfast."

She nodded and they continued their descent to Level 8. Arriving there, they noticed most of the girls were already here, looking at Hyo-Joo with envy. Did she actually come on the Prince's arm? How did that happen?

Hyo-Joo let go of Alec's arm and went to her seat, waiting for the beautiful food to arrive. Alec also went to his own table, in the middle of Austin and Avonlea.

"So," Austin said, wiggling his eyebrows. "The Asian girl, huh?"

"Shut up, Austin."

"Is she real?" his brother asked, ignoring his request. "Or is she a doll? Or even better, a robot?"

"I said _shut up_. And yes, she's real." Alec rolled his eyes and waited for his father to nod to the butler to start serving. But the Emperor was still waiting. Alec looked over at the girls, and one seat was empty. One of them was late. Alec sighed. _Must be Calliope,_ he thought. But curiously, she was there.

"I'm so sorry," a girl said, coming through the door. She was the curviest and heaviest girl of the lot – Jessica Harris, Alec remembered – and she was wearing an elegant black lace pencil dress with bright red pumps, and giant golden earrings. "I got lost. I forgot which floor breakfast was." She curtsied awkwardly and quickly took the empty seat.

Alec tried not to laugh, and the Emperor nodded to the butler to serve.

Breakfast was served on individual plates. Each one received a bubble fruit salad – the bubbles were one inch in diameter each – with 3D printed geometrical waffles and cubic scrambled eggs. Food was art, in the Palace, even for breakfast.

An hour later, when everyone was done destroying the food art, everyone walked out of the room to go about their business, all but Hyo-Joo and Alec. Once everyone was gone, he joined her.

"So," he started. "Do you want to start from Level 14" or Level 1?"

Hyo-Joo grinned. Let's start from the top and go down from there?"

"Sounds good to me." He offered her his arm and they headed to the Vacuum Elevator. Once inside, he vocally ordered the Elevator. "Fourteen," he said. The machine shot up seven floors, and the two occupants didn't even feel a thing.

"I have a question for you, Hyo-Joo," Alec said.

"Sure? But you can call me Chee-Chee. Easier to pronounce, Your Highness."

"Chee-Chee," Alec repeated. "Okay." He chuckled. "So, you're from Baffin, right?" he said quickly checking his open file on his Contacts with the girls' info.

"That's right, yes."

The Elevator door opened with a small _woosh_ sound. "Here we are," he said, stepping out. "What exactly do you do in Baffin? Last time I went there, the population had dwindled to practically nothing, since the ground isn't fertile, due to the ice in the past generations."

Hyo-Joo chuckled. "It's true, there aren't a lot of people left, there. But it's not because of the infertile ground. You should know that we can grow anything anywhere thanks to Nano-Technology."

Alec cleared his throat. "Of course." But in truth, he had no idea. The agricultural stuff didn't interest him that much, since now practically everyone ate processed or 3D printed food. And he didn't question where his food came from. "Then why did everyone leave?" he asked, changing the turn of the conversation back to Baffin…

"It's mostly labs and researchers, there, now."

"Right," he said stupidly. "You're a Nano-Medics Specialist."

"Among other things," she said, smoothly taking his arm. "Tell me about the Palace?"

"Oh, yeah, right." Alec looked around. The 14thfloor wasn't really interesting. "This floor only has guest rooms for Royals and other Dignitaries who would come during the Selection. We needed to keep free rooms in case anyone decided to show up. This floor and the two others where you ladies are all identical. Should we go directly down to the 11thfloor?"

"Tell me about the architecture…" she said, looking around in awe.

Alec rolled his eyes. "You've seen the Palace from the outside. It's a white contemporary building a little out of date, built 70 years ago, 15 floors high. But the inside is actually inspired from the _Château de Versailles_ , a Palace in France built in 1623, 1000 years ago. _Versailles_ has always been admired by architects from all ages and places." He paused, looking at Hyo-Joo – Chee-Chee – looking all around her as if looking for certain details.

Little did he know that she was actually recording everything he was saying along with the whole layout of the Floor with her Upgraded Contacts…

"Are there secret tunnels? I mean, tunnels for the staff and CleanBots so you don't run into them?"

Alec eyed her suspiciously. "Yeah," he said slowly. "Me and my brother used to explore them throughout the whole Palace when we were kids. I haven't done this in years. I'd get lost, now, I guess." He chuckled. "Why?"

She shrugged. "Just curious. Should we go down?"

"Sure." They went to the Vacuum Elevator again, and Alec skipped the two next floors – the ones with the Selected's rooms – and ordered Level 11. "Ball rooms on this floor," he said walking out of the Vacuum. "Nothing really interesting, here."

"Ball _rooms_ , plural?" Hyo-Joo said. "How may are there?"

Alec shrugged. "Four I think? There's the biggest one, used for the most important Balls, then the others are used for other smaller events or parties, like birthdays, charities, and such."

"Can we see them?" she asked.

"There are things much more interesting than Ball rooms in this Palace, you know?" But when he saw her shoulders slightly slump, he quickly changed his mind. "Okay, let's go see them." He offered her his arm and he led her to the smallest Ball room, wanting to finish the tour of this floor in a grand way. She seemed to be looking at every detail of everything. Alec found it awkward. What would a Nano-Medics Specialist want to see every square inch of this Palace? Weird.

On the 10thfloor was the grand Dining room for the evenings, as well as some boudoirs, highly uninteresting to Alec. But he politely answered her questions, without giving up too much about the Place. She seemed to asks bizarre questions, and time was running out. He wanted to finish the tour in time for lunch.

The 9thfloor was made of random boudoirs and rooms – including the Women's room, and Men's room – and the 8thhad the lunch/breakfast dining room, along with other random boudoirs and lounge rooms.

The 7thfloor seemed to be really interesting to Hyo-Joo, and Alec mentally kicked himself for telling her that was where the Business offices and conference rooms were.

"Where's your father's office?" She asked innocently.

"Let's go directly to the 3rdfloor," he said, ignoring the question.

"But... What's on levels 6, 5, and 4?"

"Staff bedrooms, the Kitchen and the Report room; you've already been there." He guided her to the Vacuum Elevator and ordered Level 3. "I'm sure you'll find this Level and the next one much more interesting. Come on." He guided her to a corridor with several rooms on each side. "These are all gaming rooms for HoloGames, or more old-fashioned ones, such as Pool, and other card games. This one's my favorite," he said opening a door. It was a barren gray room with nothing else but a command center.

Hyo-Joo frowned. "What's fun in this room?"

"Augmented reality games, the latest update" he said with a grin. "All you have to do is inject this serum, and it'll sent you in the game. This whole room changes for you to play, it's really awesome. You wanna try?"

"Um," she swallowed. "Maybe not right now," she said, unsure.

Alec sighed, but tried not to look too disappointed. He decided not to show her the HoloCinema room, since she didn't seem interested with this kind of thing, only the architecture, which had changed on the lower levels to look more like the outside, and not like the _Versailles_ Palace.

"Okay, last floor," he said, walking towards the Elevator.

"What about the first floor?"

Alec tried to hide his annoyance. "Just a big hangar with the vehicles, nothing interesting." He didn't want to show her his babies. _She wouldn't understand_ , he thought. It took them three seconds to go down one floor.

"A swimming pool?" she asked, exited, smelling the familiar scent. "Inside?"

"Of course, inside. But there's also a jacuzzi, a fitness room and a tennis court."

Her eyebrows rose. "All this on this floor? That's amazing!"

Alec checked the time on his contacts. "It'll soon be time for lunch," he said." We should head back."

Hyo-Joo nodded, looking one last time around her, recording everything. "Okay, let's go." She took her arm and they shot back up to the 8thlevel and joined the others in the lunch dining room.

Austin looked at Alec with a sly grin. "So," he said when he was seated next to him. "How was the Asian girl?"

"Weird, but sweet," Alec said. "I can't believe she didn't even want to try the Augmented Reality room," he said, sarcastically. "I could have gone on some other planet."

Austin chuckled. "Chill, man. Chose another for this afternoon or this evening. And do something else. Because seriously? A Palace tour?"

Alec shrugged. "She seemed interested in the architecture," he replied defensively. "It was the only I could think of on the spot."

Austin laughed. "Whatever. You're the most socially awkward person I know," he said, slapping him on the back.

"Shut up."

"Look, take the afternoon off and prepare a great date for tonight. Not an 'on the spot' date. Plan it, it'll be better."

"With who?" Alec said, looking at the girls. He didn't want to make decisions, right now, he was hungry.

"Take one of the clones," Austin said. "Or twins. Find out whatever they are." He grinned, his curiosity always took the upper hand...

Alec nodded. _Good idea_ , he thought, looking at the von Aslar girls. _But which one?_

* * *

 ** _Hi! so, thanks for your patience and for reading this awkward chapter... didn't turn out as good as I wanted, but Alec had his first awkward date... Let's hope his next date will be slightly better^^ Poor guy hahaha_**

 ** _Anyway... I finished today Phase 2 of my exams, and I don't start again until next Monday, so I hope to have 1 or 2 more chapters up for you until then... ;)_**

 ** _If you want to add anything to your characters_** _(date ideas, quotes, conversation ideas, or anything else...)_ ** _now that you have a good idea of the setup, don't hesitate ;)_**

 ** _Thanks for your reviews! And I'll see you in a couple days for the next chapter_** _(once I catch up the The 100 and The Royals hahaha)_


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Saturday after lunch, Alec spent the afternoon going through her file and the notes he quickly took when he first met the girl. Thank goodness he took notes, because he wouldn't have remembered anything from that day where he met all of them one after the other. It was all messed up in his mind.

He made a couple InCalls and looked some things over with his own security detail, Jasper Baldwin. He made sure to choose an outfit not too formal, something comfortable, but nice at the same time. He chose white t-shirt, a pair of black pants, and a black suit jacket. He paired the outfit with some white aerodynamic sneakers, and decided to let his hair down.

A couple hours before supper, he looked on his Contacts and used the location device – he installed it after his date with Hyo-Joo, when he bumped into her – asking where she was. It showed she was in her room. He went down to the 13thfloor and searched for her room. He knocked twice.

"Coming," she said. The door opened. "Oh, Your Highness," Verramine von Aslar said, surprised to see the Prince at her door. "What can I do for you?"

Alec stuffed his fists in his pockets – something he always did when nervous – and cleared his throat, keeping his smile on his face. "I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date with me?"

"Oh, my God. Of course! This evening?"

"Now, actually."

"Now? Um, maybe I should change, I-"

"No, don't change," Alec said. "You look fine like this. I mean, a ball gown won't really be practical, to be honest. Just stay as you are."

Verramine smirked. "Are you sure? I could at least wear something a little bit fancy…"

Alec chuckled. "Naah… you'd be overdressed compared to me."

"Okay," she said. "Is there anything I need to take with me?"

"Nope, you're good." He offered her his arms and he led her to the Vacuum and then to the 9thfloor, to the Main Entrance.

"We're going out?"

"Oh yeah," Alec said. "I already can't stand being in here with everyone watching. I agreed for only _one_ HovoCam to come with us, and I can turn it off at will. So for now," he said, grabbing the orb from the air and stuffing it in his pocket, "It's out. Come on." There was a Two-Seater Hovo waiting for them, and they went in. Alec punched in the coordinates of where he wanted to go, and they were off. They didn't need to do anything, just let themselves be carried away to their destination.

"Where are we going?" Verramine asked, curious.

"Do you like surprises?" Alec replied mischievously, and eyeing her discreetly. She was wearing a knee length navy blue A-line dress with three quarter sleeves and big silver jewelry, paired with white heels. Maybe he should have told her to change the shoes. He was wearing sneakers.

"I do," she laughed. "Fine, I won't ask any questions," she added, feigning outrage.

Alec chuckled, too. "If you're not going to ask questions, then I will. If you don't mind."

Verramine rolled her eyes. "I bet you're going to ask me if Veena and I are sisters or something."

Alec raised an eyebrow. "I was. But if you prefer, I can ask you something else…?"

"No, it's fine. We are twin sisters, actually. We got separated as little girls when our biological parents died, and we kinda lost contact and all."

"But signing up for the Selection and being both selected was a long shot."

"A _very_ long shot," she said. "But it was definitely worth the try."

"I can see that." He paused. "What happened? How did your parents-" he stopped short. "I'm sorry, maybe you don't want to talk about this."

Verramine smiled. "It's okay. I guess you want to know a little bit more about your girlfriends." She smiled. "It happened a long time ago, Veena and I were 8 years old. They died in a Hovo Accident. There was a bug in the system, and it crashed against another one." She paused. "That's why my sister has a bionic arm, and I have an artificial eye. The brown one," she added.

Alec looked at her eyes. "Oh wow. I never even realized you had heterochromia eyes. Can you see different with the artificial one?"

Verramine laughed. "Yes, I can see in the dark, and zoom in, like with binoculars."

"That's awesome!" Alec exclaimed. "I wish I had some enhanced body part."

"You don't? Everyone rich enough has an enhanced part. Mine was paid by the medical insurance my parents paid before their death, otherwise I would never have had one. How come you don't have one?"

"Security measure," Alec shrugged. " _Enhanced body part_ says _Tech_ or Nano-Tech, and _Tech_ says _Hacking_. Imagine if a Royal was hacked. Now that would cause mayhem and chaos."

"Ha, that it would," she said. "I never thought at it this way. So you don't have anything? Besides your contacts, I mean."

"Not tech, but I do have an Inktat."

"Really? What is it?" she asked.

Alec chuckled. "An eagle." He took off his suit coat and showed her his inner arm, near his bicep. "It was the symbol of the United State," he says. "Before it became Illéa. I like to remember where we came from." Verramine touched the Inktat with the tip of her finger and the bird started to beat his wings in a slow, majestic motion.

"Oh my God!" she said. "It moves!"

Alec grinned. "You've never seen a moving Inktat?"

"No, I knew they existed, but I've never seen one before. They're expensive."

"They are. But please don't tell anyone. If my mother knew I sneaked out without my security detail to get it, she would kill me herself."

Verramine smirked. "Your secret is safe with me, Your Highness."

"Alec," he said. "Please. I already told you all I wanted you to call me Alec."

"Sorry," she said, chuckling. "I forgot."

The Hovo slowed down, and Alec looked outside. "Here we are." It stopped and he helped Verra out. He put his suit coat back on

"What is this place?" she said in awe. They were at the top of a cliff, overseeing the ocean. On the edge was a black building hanging over the empty space, over the crashing waves.

"You're not afraid of heights, are you?" he asked, turning on the HovoCam so it followed them at a short distance.

"No."

"Good. Come on. This is my favorite place, actually. You see the sky?"

Verramine looked up. "Yeah? What about it?"

Alec smiled, staring at the blue infinity above them. "We're outside a PlexiDome. This is the real sky. It feels like freedom and life." He chuckled, lost in thought. Then, he looked back at the building. "And this is my favorite restaurant," he added. "It makes the best New Asian food in the country." He grinned, offering her his hand, which she took and they walked towards the hanging building. They were directed to a single table, alone in a back room, and the Chef himself welcomed them and took their order. Verramine and Alec talked throughout the whole dinner. He asked her about her job as an Octagarian Service Provider.

"How old are the people you take care of?" he asked.

Verramine popped a sushi in her moth before answering. "The oldest lady is 137 years old. She has all her mind, and if she still had a full strong and functioning body, she would most definitely run a half-Marathon."

"137?! No way! Life expectancy is only up to 115 years old," Alec said. "How is it possible?"

Verramine rolled her eyes. "115 is an average number. Some people die much younger, if they don't have the right medical insurance and the money to go with it, whereas people go up to 140 if they can afford it."

"Damn, I have another 116 years to live."

She burst out laughing. "Yeah, probably. You have the right money and medical insurance to get you there. But maybe in a hundred years, life span will be up to 200 years old," she mused. "You'd have another 175 years to live."

Alec almost choked. "That's a lot."

Verramine laughed. "Lily – the oldest lady in the Resort where I work – is a great, great, great, great grand-mother. You could be six or seven times great grand-father if you live up to 200 years old."

"Okay," Alec said. "I'm getting dizzy just thinking about it."

Verra chuckled, and they finished their dinner. Later, Alec and Verra went to a nearby beach. She took off her shoes, holding them by the strap in her hand, while holding Alec's hand with the other. Alec had had a couple glasses of wine, so he was much more open and talkative. And so had Verramine. They weren't drunk. Just a little merry on the side.

The HovoCam followed them around all evening, but Alec had turned off the sound recording. He would show the date, but not their conversations. That was private. When the sky turned too dark to see anything, he called the Hovo to the beach where they were on and they headed back to the City and to the Palace. They were both silent on the way home, and Verra lay her head on Alec's shoulder. Once back home, he walked her back to her room, and bid her goodnight with a kiss on the back of her hand. Verra blushed and went inside.

-x-

The next morning, Saturday morning, everyone slept in. Everyone but Austin. He tried, though. Ever since 6.30 am, he tried to fall back asleep, but to no avail. Since he couldn't sleep, he decided to use his time for some much-needed workout. Ever since the Selection was announced, he slacked a bit in that area, using his time to help Alec get ready. _I mean, who would be so scared of 35 girls? Alec, of course_ , he thought rolling his eyes as he got up from bed. He chose his sport outfit from his ScreenWardrobe and took the Vacuum down to Level 2. He headed to the fitness room, ready to tackle some workout.

He was about to go to the HoloScreen to choose his workout routine, when he noticed he was not alone. A blonde girl was running on the treadmill, using the Concave Holoscreen to run in the greenest forest there was in the program, with earbuds probably giving her forest noises, along with the sound of her steps on a road of wood chips.

Austin stared for a minute, trying to remember her name. He didn't have the files of the girls on his Contacts like Alec did. She had long blond hair – her back was toward him, so he couldn't see her eyes – and a lean body. She was wearing a very short short and a pink tank top.

 _Kira_! He thought, her name coming back to mind. He didn't want to scare her or anything, because she still hadn't noticed him, so he decided to send her a message on her running screen.

 _I don't want to scare you, Kira, but you're not alone in this room. Austin._ He mumbled the message to his Contacts and blinked once to send the message, which appeared in black letters on the screen. She jumped in surprise and stopped running. She turned around, blushing furiously, and saw Austin.

"Oh my goodness," she said, taking out her earbuds, "Prince Austin," she said, almost tripping out of the treadmill. "Did you need the machine?" she asked.

Austin chuckled. "Nope. I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd use my time in a workout session. I just didn't want to scare you."

Kira giggled, tucking a non-existent strand of hair behind her ear – it was tightly tied up in a ponytail.

"Mind if I run next to you?" he said pointing to the other treadmill.

"No, of course not." She grinned as he dragged the machine next to hers, using the hovering setup.

"Good. The forest is a good idea. Do you want to wear your earbuds? Or we can put the sound on the loudspeakers."

"The loudspeakers are fine," she said with a smile. Her cheeks were still pink. Austin wondered if it was due to the effort or to her embarrassment. They both climbed on their machines and started running, in silence at first.

Once Austin took up his cruising speed, he turned to look at her. "So, Broadway, right?"

Kira nodded. "Yeah."

"But you're a Two," Austin said. "You could've been a HoloActress."

"I know," Kira said, still running. "But I much rather prefer the Live Stage to the Holo Studios. You get to interact with the public directly, and there's much more things that can go wrong. So it's more fun," she added with a grin.

Austin chuckled. "And you can sing, too, then?"

"Of course," she giggled. "Some of our practice sessions include running like this and singing at the same time. We need to be able to dance and walk and act while talking and singing." She laughed. "You might be the first one to be out of breath of the two of us if we continue to talk." She flashed him a mischievous smile.

"Probably true," Austin conceded. "I haven't done this in a while. Running, I mean." And already he was starting to be out of breath. _If I want to keep up with her, I'd better make her talk,_ he thought. "So, what was your favorite show you did?"

Kira thought for a moment before answering. "My favorite ones are the Covers of old Disney shows. I loved playing in Frozen, Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast. But my favorite of it all was the Little Mermaid. The whole first part of the show was played in a giant aquarium! We had these little devices to breath under water; and singing under water is a whole magical experience!" And on and in she went about her shows. Austin enjoyed listening to her, and it made him want to actually go see a Broadway show…

* * *

 **Heyyy! here's the next chapter already! I hope you all were happy to meet these two girls, and that you got to know the Princes a bit more ;) Thanks for your reviews on the previous chapter! :D :D :D**

 **Please, Please, Please go check LittleMysteries's Selection story!** (I know some of you already sent a form for her SYOC) **, but she can't write her story if she doesn't have enough girls... Thanks! ;)**

 **Please continue to tell me what you think of this story and what you liked/disliked ;) It helps me write better stories! And also thanks to those who sent me some additional info on your characters ;)**

 **byeeee! :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

The Geonengineers of Angeles never made it rain during the day. It was decided that a sunny day was best for everyone. If they made it rain, it would be during the night. And this time was no different. The clear blue sky with tiny little clouds across the giant screen and the clear summer sun made that Sunday afternoon a great day to be outside. There were no UV rays anymore, so there was no risk getting a sunburn.

After brunch, Alec invited all the girls to spend the afternoon on the 10thfloor terrace. It was the largest, and the one with the most lawn space to either settle down on lounge-chairs or to set up a net for volleyball or Badminton. For now, this was the last day before Avonlea would really start her lessons. She had only given them the basics of basics of etiquette, but she had much more to teach them. It was also kind of her last day off…

Alec was wearing a white pair of pants made out of nano-tech fabric that kept him cool under the heating sun. A pair of shorts was out of the question, or his mother would kill him. His long sleeve blue shirt was made of the same fabric as the pants, and it fit tightly to his frame, showing his muscular build. It was Avonlea who told him to wear it, so he wouldn't be the only one to have something nice to see… The girls also needed to see him.

A group of the girls made themselves comfortable in lounge chairs, chatting together, and another group went back to their rooms to change in something more comfortable to play some volleyball. Avonlea was one of them. She wanted some fun, too. Screw what the Press would say on the Feeds about that.

Austin also entered the volleyball game, and he was more than happy to show his muscles and his flashing smile to all these ladies. Playing volleyball were Addison, Petra, Catiena, Eris, Jessica, Katia, Kira, and three others. With the twins, it was a six-against-six game. Avonlea and Austin were both in a different team, and they chose Avonlea's team to start, and her team decided it should be Avonlea who started. In her team was Petra, Addison, a girl she couldn't remember the name, Eris and Kira.

The others stayed on the side and watched for a few minutes the first few exchanges, but then quickly lost interest in the game. Verra and Veena, the twins, were talking together a little apart from the others, catching up on the years they'd been separated. Practically all the other girls were huddled together around Alec.

He didn't mind the attention, now that he knew them a little better, but still. He still had to do a great effort to make social interactions with the girls.

"Prince Alec," Francesca said. "Don't you play volleyball?"

Alec chuckled. "Sometimes. Maybe later. For now, I'm here with you. So tell me Francesca, don't you play?" he said, returning the question with a sly smile.

"Call me Cheska, please. And no, not really. I'm not really a volleyball person. But I'm a big fan of the Illéan Football League," she said. "I'd love to go see a game, one day."

Alec nodded in appreciation. "I like them, too."

"Ugh, a bunch of men running after a ball," Eryn said playfully. "What's the fun in that?"

The others laughed.

"I prefer the swimming team, or the athletics," Blair said. "At least we can really see the guys."

Alec shook his head, chuckling. "Is this really what it is about? Feasting your eyes on guys?"

"You're the one saying that?" Yana said mischievously, "when you have 35 girls for yourself?"

"32," Alec corrected. "And no, this is not what it's about." But then he looked at the girls playing volleyball. "Although it doesn't hurt to have something pretty to look at."

There was a mix of laughter and false outraged grunts, and Alec laughed with them.

-x-

Empress Beatrix wanted to take a look herself at the girls. She wanted to know who she was dealing with. Who _Alec_ was dealing with. She ordered the Butler to arrange a table with all kinds of foods to see who would be the first one to jump on it. A princess didn't stuff herself with food, especially after the large brunch they had. She wanted to snuff out the weakest girls to leave Alec with the best. She waited for the table with the food to be outside and ready to go on the terrace herself.

She was wearing an elegant black floor-length fitted dress with open sleeves that met in the back, also made of cooling nano-tech fabric. She walked around the terrace, and immediately, the girls were more self-conscious about their posture, their voices, and their smiles. She watched the volleyball game for a few minutes.

 _Nia,_ Beatrix said to her Brain Quant through her thoughts alone. _We need to root out the weed._

 _Of course, Trix,_ Nia answered back. Her familiarity was due to thirty years of being illegally in the Empress' brain. The Quant's – Nia – and Beatrix's thoughts and way of thinking had merged together by now. If Nia somehow didn't work anymore, Beatrix would be completely at loss. Nia was a part of her, now. _What do you want to know about the girls to weed them out?_ Nia asked. Beatrix heard the words in her mind as they were spoken aloud.

 _Check their vitals._

 _On it,_ Nia said. In a matter of seconds, she had checked the vitals of all the girls playing volleyball. All were sporty, but one. Sonia was struggling to keep up with the others, her heart beating faster than normal, and sweating hard.

 _Why would she volunteer for the game if she's not physically trained for this?_ Beatrix asked.

 _Probably to show off her body in that tiny outfit to Alec,_ Nia replied. Although she was only a computer quant, Beatrix knew she had picked up on her sarcasm.

 _Probably. She needs to be out._

Nia took note of ot and put it aside in Beatrix's mind.

Then she headed to the group of girls talking to Alec.

"Good afternoon, Ladies," the Empress said, and all the girls stood and curtsied to her, their little etiquette training kicking in. "I hope you are enjoying yourselves," she said smoothly.

The girls nodded, keeping their posture straight and their polite smiles on.

"Excellent. Don't mid me, this afternoon. I'll just be lounging over there," she said. "We don't have a lot of days off," she added, reminding them that being Empress was not just smiles and fashion. It was hard work. And to be honest, she wasn't really on a day off. She was observing the girls…

She walked away to her own lounging chair and sat with elegance and poise. She continued to watch the girls with Nia, her position allowing her to see the whole terrace. After a few minutes, the girls relaxed and they ignored her.

 _They're good,_ Nia said. _They're letting their guard down._

Beatrix observed as some of the girls went to the buffet table and took some food. Some took bubble fruit bowls, other cubic fruit kebabs, and dipped them in the chocolate fountain. It was real fruit grown in the Palace Greenhouse, not processed 3D printed fruit, so the girls jumped on it. A handful of them went for the greasy, fried food, and Nia made a note of who they were.

Then Beatrix saw a girl – Nia told her it was Korina – who walked back inside the Palace but was back a few minutes later. _Must have gone to the bathroom or something,_ Beatrix thought.

But upon watching how she walked, she found it curious that her steps were so precise and calculated. Her movements were smooth enough, but there was something odd about her. _Nia, what can you find on this girl?_

Nia quickly went through the database and Korina's data, analyzing it in a matter of seconds. _She is a Three from Midston and works at the Extant Sanctuary; she is a revivalist; she works with Dr. Nero. 19 years old, 5'3'' in height for a weight of 200 lbs. She's-_

 _Stop right there,_ Beatrix said. _How does she weight 200 lbs. with a body like hers?_

Nia scanned Korina through Beatrix's Upgraded Contacts. _83% steel, 13% aluminum, 3% latex, 1% of other substances,_ Nia answered.

Beatrix was stunned for a moment. _Is she a-_

 _An Android, 5thGeneration, made one year ago,_ Nia answered, recognizing the design.

For the first time in her Empress life, Beatrix didn't know what to do about this knew information. There was no record of Korina being an android in her database. She could be a weapon of some sort. She would have to talk to Theodore about this.

-x-

In the Underground neighborhood of Angeles, Dax, Calliope's brother, was still working on his project with Derrick – his own Brain Quant – at Calliope's demand: breaking through the Palace Security Network so she could communicate with him. Tibalt, one of the Royal Computer Engineers, was working on this project with Dax, too. And they were almost through all the firewalls. Tibalt had to be careful not to leave any data trace, or his life would be on the line.

They needed to create a program that would piggyback the one already in place so no one would notice it. On that Sunday afternoon, they got through.

Dax sent a message to Calliope. "Done. Use the code encryption in this message. D."

-x-

On the terrace, Calliope received the message on her Contacts. Since they were vocally controlled, she couldn't reply in front of the others.

"I'll be right back," she said to the girl next to her. "I just need to get my sunglasses."

Sunglasses weren't necessary, since the Contacts could darken at will to protect the eyes. But it remained a fashion item. Calliope walked away and took the Vacuum to the 12thfloor to her room. Once inside, she locked herself in, took out her lipstick and unscrewed it completely until she could get out the chip.

She inserted it in the slot on the touchscreen table and used the encrypted code in Dax's message to get in the new program. She grinned when it worked. _You're a genius_ , she whispered and blinked the message away to Dax. She was inside the Palace's Security Network and decided to continue her own little hacking. She didn't have much time, so she quickly programmed the bugs Tibalt had placed in the Emperor's and Empress's offices and Bedroom. There was a lot to learn from their private conversations.

And she also needed a way to stay in the Selection whatever happened from now on. She connected her Contacts to the new program, took out the chip and put it back inside her lipstick. She reapplied some for good measure and took her sunglasses with her back to the Terrace.

-x-

Outside, Alec had now joined the Volleyball group, his pant legs and sleeves rolled up. The girls were cheering for his team – he was with Avonlea – and after a tight score, Austin's team won.

The winning Prince was cheered from all the girls, except the ones in Alec's team. But Alec was not a poor loser, and he congratulated everyone. He had to have them all on his side, anyway. He left the volleyball field and joined the few others who had stayed behind.

"Prince Alec," he heard a very familiar voice say.

He turned around. "Hey, Calliope," he said. "Are you okay," he asked, seeing how pale she was. "You look like you've seen a ghost or something."

"Can we talk? In private," she added.

Alec frowned. Something was really wrong. Calliope would normally make a scene or something. "Sure." He invited her to walk back inside and they headed to a small boudoir. Alec made sure no HovoCam had followed. "What is it?" he asked, genuinely concerned.

Calliope looked at her fingers fidgeting together. "Alec, I-" She took a deep breath.

"Cal, you can talk to me," he said softly, lifting her chin with his fingers. He looked in her cognac colored eyes he knew so well and realized he cared for her, at some level.

She hesitated before saying the next three words. She looked back in his ice blue eyes. "I'm pregnant."

* * *

 _ **HEYYY!**_

 _ **Thanks again for all your reviews! I'll be waiting to read your thought on this chapter, too^^ lot of things happened here... oops...**_

 _ **I'll see you soon for chapter 12!**_

 _ **BYE!**_


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"What?" Alec said, becoming pale, too, and letting go of her chin. "But how? I mean, you're not supposed to- Babies are not- What the hell?!" Alec said a little bit too loudly.

"Remember our last time in the Hangar?" She paused, waiting for him to say something, and when he didn't, she continued. "Look, my IUD expired a few weeks ago and I completely forgot about it. I'm sorry," she said, trying to look as sorry and confused as possible.

"Like hell you're sorry," he snapped back. He ran his hands in his hair. "Damnit, Cal. This Selection has been going on for only a few days and you're already dropping his bomb on me. What am I supposed to do?" He breathed hard, and noticed Calliope was avoiding his gaze, fidgeting with the hem of her blouse.

"I'm sorry," she said again.

Alec sighed and came closer to her. "It's fine." He paused and took a deep breath before slowly releasing it. "I shouldn't overreact." He gathered her in his arms, and she placed her chin on his shoulder. She grinned. _It totally worked_.

"What are you going to do with the baby?" he asked, releasing her.

She shrugged. "I have to keep it. It's a Royal Heir. I can't just have an abortion."

"I know," Alec said. "But you could have it grow in an artificial womb. It's not too late."

"I don't know, Alec. I'm scared."

"It'll be okay," he said, gently touching her cheek. "Let's just keep this to ourselves, for now. We'll figure something out."

She nodded. "I'm tired, though. I think I'll go back to my room for a while."

"Of course," he said. "Just tell me if you need anything, okay?" He kissed the top of her head and then walked away. What was he supposed to do?

As soon as he was out, she grinned to herself. "To Dax," she said to her Contacts. "I secured my place in the Selection," she mumbled. "I'll snoop around to see if I can get anything useful for us. I'll update later." She blinked once and the message was out, using their piggyback network.

-x-

Later that evening, after dinner, the girls either went to the Women's Room for a girls' night, or directly to their rooms for some alone time. Alec knew he needed to continue with the dates or the first round of dates would take forever. He only had two so far. Three if he counted Calliope. He didn't really need a first date with her. She was already carrying his child, for crying out loud.

He used his location app on his contacts and looked for the next one on his list. He hoped she wouldn't be in the Women's room, or it would be awkward to ask her out in front of everyone. But thankfully she was in her room.

He went up to the 13thfloor, walked down the hall, and knocked on her door.

He heard soft steps coming to the door, and the door opened on a petite bond girl with short wavy hair oval blue eyes.

"Prince Alec," she said, surprised.

"Lady Blair," he said. "Am I disturbing you?"

"Oh, no. I was just reading."

"Good," Alec said, although he knew how it felt to be disturbed while reading. "I was wondering if you wanted to spend some time together, tonight? Unless you're tired, I can-"

"No, it's fine," she said, smiling.

"Excellent."

Blair Gordon was wearing a simple pants and blouse outfit, having changed from her navy-blue evening gown.

"Should I change?" she asked, looking at her clothes, and then at Alec's – he was still wearing his evening suit.

"No, stay like that. You look much more comfortable than I am."

Blair laughed and they walked down the hall to the Vacuum. "Where are we going?"

"Good thing you asked," he replied. "I didn't know if you'd prefer to have drinks in the gardens on the roof, or VR gaming?" He chuckled. "I honestly have no idea what kind of girl you are, yet."

Blair laughed. "Definitely drinks," she replied.

"Great," he said, smiling. "Come on." They walked into the Vacuum and he ordered the roof vocally.

"There isn't a special Vacuum for Level 15 and above?" she asked, surprised.

"No. But if you ordered level 15, the Vacuum wouldn't budge. It's a vocal recognition. Only some privileged people are recorded here."

"And the roof?"

He cocked his head. "I'm not even sure about that one."

Twelve seconds later, the Vacuum doors opened to a gust of air, and he stepped out first, offering her his hand, which she took. She grinned and he smiled back. "Come see the view," he said. But a few meters from the edge, she stopped.

"Not too close, please," she said, her voice shaking a little.

Alec concluded she was afraid of heights. "That's fine," he said. "The view is visible from here, too," he said, leading her around the Greenhouse, and unto a wooden deck with a small metal table and matching loveseat. There was a white tablecloth, a bottle of Champaign, two flutes, and two plates with appetizers and petit-fours.

"Sorry it's not a real sunset," Alec said. "Just your typical PlexiDome Sunset." He chuckled. You live under a 'Dome, too? Or are you one of the lucky ones outside?"

"Under a 'Dome," she said. "I don't get out much, though. Don't have the time."

Alec sat on one of the chairs and Blair joined him on the other one. "No weekends? No vacations?"

"Not really. It's hard to have ends meet, so I do a lot of overtime."

Alec filled the two glasses of Champaign and offered one to Blair, and they toasted. "To 'Dome Sunsets," he said, chuckling. She giggled and they both sipped their Champaign. "What is it you do again?"

"I'm a Nostalagist," she said, taking a macaron from the sweets plate. "There's a lot of work."

"I can imagine that," Alec replied, taking a salty petit-four. "There are so many old people."

"You can say that again," she chuckled. "Last I checked, it was 6 seniors 80 and above for 1 kid 15 and under. There are more old people and lesser children. With every single woman getting an IUD at fourteen, people don't have kids anymore."

Alec refrained for making a comment about expired IUDs. "It's a real problem. Sociologists have been working on that issue for years. And with the life span going higher and higher, it's not helping." He sipped his Champaign. "But let's not talk about that," he said. "Tell me a little about you?"

Blair looked up at the sky on the 'Dome. "You know I love reading," she started.

"What genre?"

"Either poetry or romantic comedies. There's no in between." She laughed and took another appetizer, a salty one, this time.

"And clearly you're not decided on salty or sweets, too," Alec pointed out.

"Oh, no. I can eat both at the same time," she said, laughing softly.

"What about you?" she said, returning the question. "Do you read?"

"When I have the time, yeah. And it's either Dark Mysteries, or some historical fiction. Same as you, there's no in between."

"You read historical fiction?" She said, surprised. "I thought only girls read that."

"Hey," he said, faking offense. "There's a lot of things we can learn about the past in these novels, even if they're fiction. Can you imagine that four hundred years ago, they didn't have any tech?"

"Four hundred years ago? Of course, they did. It was just different."

"It was completely dark," Alec countered. "They had ID cards, and telephones. Today we have all that on and inside us. They had to carry everything around." He chuckled, drinking some more. "Life must have been so boring."

"That's not what my clients say," she said softly. "They miss the time where there was less Tech. And the apartments were so much different. When I create an apartment for a client, I learn so much on how they used to live, and how they're parents used to live. They had so much more things to do, you know?" She paused. "They didn't just press a button and get what they wanted."

Alec didn't reply right away and thought about how easy his life was. It was true he liked using his hands to clean or repair his bikes. But he realized it was the only thing he really did. Everything else came through the VacuumBox or through his contacts. He was just surfing on the flow of information.

"It's true we don't do anything anymore," he finally said. "And people want to do everything faster and better."

Blair nodded and looked at the horizon, where the sun was dipping behind the line, surrounded by pink and purple clouds. Alec didn't look at the sunset. He had his gaze on Blair. He had to admit that she was really pretty. The pink sky reflected on her pale skin, and her petite stature made her look fragile. But of course, Alec couldn't just go and kiss her. Last time he did that, Calliope got pregnant. He was not taking that risk again. If he was going to have some intimacy with a girl, he would have to make sure he _really_ liked her. He was not Austin.

She shivered in the night air, and he took of his suit coat and put it on her shoulders. She smiled, blushing. "Thanks," she said softly.

A couple hours later, after half a bottle of Champaign emptied, he walked her back to her room and bid her goodnight with a kiss on her cheek.

He went to his room and when he opened his room, he found that he was not alone.

"Hyo-Joo? What are you doing here?"

She jerked her head around, meeting his scrutinizing gaze. She quickly recomposed herself and smiled cutely. "Prince Alec? These are your quarters? I didn't know."

"How did you get in here? You're not supposed to be on this floor."

"I'm so sorry," she said softly, becoming red in the cheeks and twisting her fingers together. "I just took the stairs and got lost in the maze," she said. "I'm sorry." She quickly walked out of the room, flashing him her best shy smile.

Alec frowned. _How on earth did she get into my room? I thought I told Tibalt to change the code… Oh well. Maybe I left the door ajar._

He kicked his shoes and stripped down his suit. He headed for the bathroom and took a long, warm shower.

 _In my office, now,_ he read on his contacts. Alec sighed.

 _Now, mom? Can't this wait tomorrow morning?_ He replied, mumbling his message to his contacts and blinked once to send it.

 _Now_ was her reply.

Alec cut short his shower and put on a pair of white jeans with a tight white t-shirt, paired with some navy-blue fancy sneakers. He headed to Level 7 and scanned his eye on the RetBox. The door opened for him.

"Alec," his mother said. "Thank you for coming." She was sitting on the divan on the side of the room, next to the Emperor. She invited Alec to sit on the armchair near them. "Come sit down."

Alec obeyed.

"Here's a list of several girls we want you to consider for your next elimination," she said, handing him a piece of paper.

"In print? Why can't you just send it to me?" he asked.

"Because a paper can't be hacked and traced," his father answered. "We've had these girls checked twice," he continued. "Medical files, the Feeds, everything. They're not cut out to be the next Empress."

Alec checked the list. Sonia and Marceline were the two first ones. They hadn't left an impression on him during the interviews, or any other time. He could cut them off. Camilla and Aurelie, too. But the last three names he wasn't so sure. "I can cut out the first four ones," he said. "But not Korina, Elizabeth and Catiena. They're the next ones on my date list. I want to give them a chance."

"Then why not the four others?" Beatrix asked.

"Honestly? Because they're not interesting. They're at the bottom of my list. The few words I exchanged with them were empty. There's nothing I want to know about them." He stood and folded the paper, slipping it in his pocket. "Thanks for the list," he said before leaving. "I'm going to bed. Good night."

Beatrix and Theodore nodded to him and let him go. Once he was out, Theodore said, "Don't you think we should have told him about Korina?"

"No," Beatrix said. "I only put her on the list because she's not human. But her Data is not faulty. And nothing says she's an android. Maybe it's temporary," she said as an afterthought. "Uploading a consciousness this young is very rare.

-x-

Five floors above, Calliope was listening in.

 _Korina's an android?_ She thought. _That's good to know._

* * *

 ** _Hi guys!_**

 ** _sorry it took so long to write and post... these last 3 days were hectic with exams... anyway, i hope you liked this chapter, too! Thanks for our reviews! :D_**

 ** _Oh, and I added a section on the Pinterest board called "Dating/Love Aesthetics" if you want to add anything there^^_** _(I love aesthetics, if you hadn't noticed... LOL)_

 ** _Thanks again for reading! I have a 4-day weekend, so i might be writing a bit more^^I hope t have 1 or 2 chapters up by Monday. Oh, and thanks for your PMs with additional info on your girls^^ don't hesitate to write! ;)_**

 ** _Byeeeeee_**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Monday morning, Avonlea was waiting in the Women's Room for the girls to arrive for their lesson. She was reading her lesson on her tablet to have it in mind, when the first lady entered. She looked up.

"Oh, good morning, Lady Petra," Avonlea said.

"Your Highness," Petra said, curtsying.

"You don't have to do that every time you see me, Petra," the Princess chuckled. "How are you liking your stay, so far?"

Petra smiled and took her seat. "I love the Palace," she replied. "It's so different than what I had imagined. And everything is amazing." She paused. "Oh, and I just wanted to thank you for taking the time in coaching us."

Avonlea smiled. "You're welcome. It's not like I had a choice in it, anyway. My father told me to prepare lessons two weeks before they announced the Selection. But I'm glad I accepted, anyway. It's fun to get to know you all."

Just then, a group of three ladies walked in and also took their seats. Five minutes later, all 32 girls were here. Avonlea was about to start her lesson when there was a knock on the door. Katia opened it, since she was the closest.

"Prince Alec," she said, curtsying.

"Sorry for interrupting," he said, more for his sister than for the girls. "Can I borrow Sonia, Marceline, Camilla and Aurelie?"

"Sure," Avonlea said and nodded to the girls who stood and followed Alec out of the room. "So," she said. "Today we are going to have a little history lesson. I want to see if you all know how we got here, and why." She paused. "Yes, Eris?" she said to the blonde girl raising her hand.

"Sorry to interrupt, but shouldn't we wait for the four girls?"

Avonlea shook her head. "I don't think they'll be coming back," she said. "So, who can tell me how and why Illéa was founded?"

-x-

After kindly telling the poor four girls that they would be leaving before lunch, Alec went to the conference room. He sat between his father and his best friend Christopher Brown, Silas Brown's son. He was following in his father's footsteps. Alec and Chris – 3 years his junior – had practically grown up together in the Palace.

"What's up?" Christopher asked. "You look awful…"

"Thanks, man," Alex said, rolling his eyes, and running a hand in his long hair. "Lots of things happened in a few days, and I'm already tired of this Selection."

"Tell me about it," Chris whispered back. "Dad told Bacchian to increase security in the Palace. He thinks something's brewing, but we're not sure what, yet."

Alec frowned. "But we already cut off three risks the first day. What now?"

Chris shrugged. "Not sure."

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Emperor Theodore said, standing at the end of the table. "Let us begin. Bacchian?"

Mikeal Bacchian, Head of Security in the Palace, stood and cleared his throat. "Thank you, your Majesty." He paused and looked at everyone around the table. All the Emperor's advisors were there, including the Empress, all called in for an emergency. "I've received information from my men that a lot is brewing in the Dark CyberNet," he started. "There is more and more data exchanged, and some of my men were able to decode parts of the encrypted messages. Clearly, they're not happy, and there was a lot of odd coincidences and other things that didn't add up, due the time they were sent and received. People are hacking Time. We don't yet know why, but the way I see it, something big is happening. And they're using the Selection to do it."

"Are there risks in the Selection?" a Lady advisor asked.

"Not _within_ the Selection," Bacchian replied. "They're using it as a distraction, using the fact that everyone's eyes are trained on the Palace and Prince Alec to do their thing. They think we'll have our eyes on it, too."

"Did you find anything tangible that's happening?" another one of the advisors asked.

"People are missing," Bacchian said. "Minors under thirteen years old, mostly. And it's more than the usual one or two per month. It went up to five this past week."

"Who are these kids?" Alec asked, concerned.

"Mostly Six and Sevens, but there was a Three, too. A girl," Bacchian said. "We're still trying to figure out how they disappeared. We lost their data track, and then we continued to track them via face recognition on the cameras. But the guys are experts. The kids are always back to the cameras, and the guys wear balaclavas. One minute they're there, and then they're not. Either there are some blind spots between Cameras or they just vanish."

"But that's impossible," Christopher said. "People don't vanish in thin air. They have to be somewhere."

"Or they're using Invisibility Cloaks," Silas Brown said. "They're all over the Dark CyperTrade. They're made of NanoTech fabric that blend in with its surroundings," he explained for those who didn't know.

"Or they just vanished," Bacchian said again. Everyone was silent, taking in the news.

After a moment, the Emperor cleared his throat and everyone looked up to him. "What we need is an even bigger distraction," he said. "All this should be kept secret, of course. We need to keep the people's attention on the Selection and have experts dig into this affair." He turned to his wife. "What do you suggest we do keep the people's eyes on us even more?"

Empress Beatrix smiled. "We need a Ball," she said. "I'll send an invitation to the English King, the European Monarchs, and the New Asian Emperor. We'll hold the Ball in the Grand Ball room. HoloCams everywhere."

"What's the occasion?" Alec asked.

"The Selected ladies need some practice in organizing an event. Avonlea will coach them on this."

"How soon can we hold that Ball?" Theodore asked her.

"Two weeks."

"It's settled, then," Theodore said. "We'll take care of the distraction while you dig into the missing kids." He nodded once and then stood and left the room, followed by his wife. The others took their tablets and went to work in their respective offices. Alec and Christopher stayed behind.

"Chris, I have a problem. And I need your advice," the Prince said.

"What is it?"

"What do you do when your ex-girlfriend tells you she's pregnant?"

Chris's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "What? You can't be serious."

Alec nodded. "Yep."

"What did you tell her?"

"Nothing. I was surprised. I didn't know what to say."

"Wait, wait, wait," Chris said. "You didn't even ask her for proof? What if she' just said that to make sure you don't eliminate her? She _is_ your ex-girlfriend." He paused. "Who else knows about this?"

"No one, so far. You're the only one I told. And please don't tell anyone."

"You should have her checked in with Dr. Marshall," Chris said. "Just to make sure."

"I can't do that. Not yet. If he knows, everyone will know. You know my parents and your dad and Bacchian have access to the medical files of whoever goes to Marshall. And then someone could slip and it's out. I'm not taking that risk."

Chris sighed. "So you're not going to do anything about it?"

"Not yet. We'll let the Ball pass, and then I'll decide what to do."

Silence filled the room.

"How far is she?" he asked.

"A month maybe. I don't know." He shrugged. "And don't ask me how it happened, because you know how these things happen. Apparently her IUD expired some time prior to-" Alec sighed. "You know."

Chris laughed. "You're such an idiot, you know that?" he said, punching him playfully in the arm. "Prior to you two having sex. You can say it."

"Shut up, Chris."

-x-

Alec wanted to miss dinner with all the Selected and have a one-on-one dinner with one of the girls. And the next one on her list was Catiena Reeves. Unfortunately for him, she was with some others outside, on one of the terraces. He would have to do that in front of everyone. _Or I could send her a message through her Contacts_ , he mused. But no. You don't ask a girl out by message on your first date. He squared his shoulders and went outside.

"Lady Catiena?" he said, seeing her laughing with a group of girls.

A brunette young woman with long straight hair and emerald green eyes turned around. She smiled at the sight of the Prince.

"Would you like to join me for a date?"

She grinned. "Of course. Right now?"

"I was, hoping, yes," Alec replied.

She followed him back inside and they walked to the Vacuum. "Level 11," he ordered. Seven seconds later, they were on the 11thfloor and he led them to a terrace facing West, where the sun would set on the 'Dome's screen. She was wearing a black day dress with long sleeves made of Nano-Tech cooling fabric, paired with some black heel, her hair tied up in a high ponytail.

"Oh, wow," she said, seeing their table with candles. "Just us for dinner?" she asked.

"Yep. And since I wasn't sure what you liked to eat best, I ordered three different dishes to choose from."

She laughed and rolled her eyes. "Of course, you would," she said. "Where I'm from, it's _eat what you get_." She chuckled. "But thanks for the choice." She flashed him a smile, but Alex wasn't sure if it was genuine or sarcastic. He held out her chair for her to sit, and then he sat across from her. The trolley was next to his seat, and he uncovered the first level, showing three different plates with different appetizers. The first one was a Rubik's Cube avocado-tomato-cheese salad, the second one was geometric molecular petit-fours, and on the third one were aesthetically pleasing veggie rolls with two stems of chives on each one.

"What do you choose, tonight, Catiena?" he asked.

She looked at the three plates. "Oh God, I don't know. They all look amazing." She gazed at the food. "What would you suggest?"

Alec laughed. "If you can't decide, then I suggest we split everything in two."

Catiena smirked. "That's perfect."

Alec proceeded to divide everything in two and he placed the first plate in the center of the table. "So," he started, "tell me a little bit about yourself."

She chuckled, forking a piece of cubic avocado. "What do you want to know?"

"You were a Six, right? Tell me about your life."

She took a deep breath. "I wasn't always a Six, you know?" she said. "I had a happy life as a Two. Until my mother died, my father remarried and my Step-mother murdered him and tried to kill me, too." She shrugged. "She took all my family's money, and I fled. I'm now a 3D printing Engineer. Story of my life," she said.

"Wait. You're the daughter of Randolf Reeves? The most famous and wealthiest Nano-Weapons Specialist?"

"Yeah," she said slowly. "You knew him? I mean, sure, you must know everyone in the second Caste."

"I didn't know him personally. But my best friend used to admire your father. He's also a Nano-Weapons specialist." He paused. "What happened next?"

"Nothing. I'm just getting by, and surviving."

Alec wondered why his mother had put her on the list for early elimination. Didn't she know who she was?

"I'm sorry about you parents," he said lamely, not knowing what else to say.

"Thanks."

There was an awkward silence after that, and they continued to eat the appetizers. Alec then uncovered the second layer on the trolley and revealed 3 plates with amazing food. Three different kinds of meat – from real animal, not processed and 3D-printed – with different side dishes.

"Why are you doing this to me," she said, laughing. "I can't just choose!"

"Then we can split in two, again if you want," Alec suggested.

"Definitely." She waited for him to divide the food. "What else do you want to know about me?"

"Uhm, I don't remember if you had any brothers or sisters?"

"I have a half-sister. But Ambrosia's resemblance to me is too strong for her to be anything but my sister. Sometimes I forget who her real mother is." She smiled, thinking of the little girl. "I love her. But I haven't seen her ever since I left."

"How long ago?"

"I was seventeen, so that makes five years ago."

"You've been surviving on your own ever since?"

"Yeah. I doubt you could have done what I did," she smirked.

"I'd like to think I would," he replied. "But you're probably right. Life as Crown Prince is pretty sheltered. I have to sneak out from under my own mother's nose to get out of this place."

Catiena laughed. "And where would you go, Your Highness?" she asked playfully, her green eyes dancing in the sunset and candle lights.

"You'd be surprise I know my way out there," Alec said, taking offense – fake, of course. "I don't take the usual transport to get out. I have my own means of moving around," he added mysteriously.

"Oh, like what?" Catiena laughed, imagining him on a hoverboard or something.

"Here, I'll send you a picture," he said, blinking once. Catiena received the file on her Contacts – thank goodness she had been a Two with good Contacts to begin with – and she laughed.

"No way. You ride _that_?"

"Yep," he said proudly. "I have nine of those babies."

"Nine?" She laughed again. "Why so many?"

Alec shrugged. "Different sizes, different shapes, different speeds. Depends on where and what I want to do. Some are hybrids and don't make a sound."

"You're sneaky," she said, forking the last bit of the third plate in her mouth.

"You know what we can do?" Alec said. "We can take the desserts to level 3 and watch and old movie in the HoloCinema room. Or we can stay here, as you wish."

Catiena raised an eyebrow. "As much as I love this candlelit dinner, there's nothing like a good old movie while eating dessert."

Alec smirked and he handed her a dessert plate, taking the two others himself. "Let's go, then."

When Catiena saw what was in her plate, she grinned. "Oh, I'm taking this one for myself," she said mischievously. On the plate was a bouquet of 3D printed chocolate roses.

Alec chuckled. "Okay. That makes more for me, then."

They both laughed and headed to the HoloCinema room. He made Catiena choose the movie – "Roman Holiday" – and they ate their desserts while travelling back in time to Rome.

After the movie, he walked her back to her room, but he had trouble saying goodnight and ending the evening. He really enjoyed that evening with her, and he decided to cross her out from his mother's elimination list. She would stay a bit longer.

-x-

Walking down the hall to get to the Vacuum, he passed in front of Calliope's room. He stopped and was about to knock, but hesitated, his knuckles an inch from the door. She was talking to someone, so Alec listened in.

"You can't be serious, Dax," she mumbled, but loud enough for Alec to make out the words. Silence. She was probably listening to or reading a message. But who was she talking to? Who was Dax? Their Contacts were blocked inside the Palace Network. She wouldn't be able to communicate outside… "When?" she continued. And then silence again. "On it," she said, and then it was over.

Alec waited another couple minutes, but nothing else happened. He decided to knock.

She opened the door. "Hey," she said, smiling, and tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Hey," he replied. "How are you feeling?" he asked as if he didn't hear anything before.

She shrugged. "Just tired," she replied, putting a protective hand on her belly, and Alec noticed that. Alec nodded, not sure what to do with her. "I'm going to go to bed okay?" She leaned in and lightly pressed her lips to his, lingering there. Alec kissed her back.

What the hell was he doing with his ex-girlfriend in his Selection? He thought walking away to his own bedroom…

* * *

 _ **Heyyyy! thanks for your reviews on Chap 12^^**_

 _ **I hope you liked this chapter too... ;) I'll try to have another one before Monday, but if not, sorry! Monday and Tuesday I again have exams...**_

 _ **anyway. Thanks for reading and staying with me! Next chapter will probably be a group date... ;)**_

 _ **Byeeee**_


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

 _Meet me at 6 p.m. on the Main Entrance Terrace, well dressed,_ Alec's message read. But he made sure he arrived a few minutes after six o'clock.

"What are you doing here?" Callisto asked Thalia.

"Alec sent me a message to meet him here at six."

"Me too," Callisto replied. They stared each other down. Until they heard steps coming their way. Francesca was walking towards them in a magnificent yellow asymmetrical mermaid gown with black accessories, a grin on her face.

"Hey," she said. "What are you two doing here?" she asked.

"Probably same thing as you," Callisto said. "You got a message from Alec, too?"

"Yeah?" Francesca said slowly. "We're having a group date?" she asked a little bit disappointed.

"Yes, we are," Alec said joining the three girls. "I wanted to do something a bit different, tonight. I hope you won't have any hard feelings towards me or each other. Going to the Theatre is always a fun experience, and I wanted to share that with all of you, without going three times to see the same show." He chuckled. "Are you ready to go?"

They nodded, still a bit disappointed, but Callisto was the first one to actually accept the fact that it was a group date.

"Perfect. What show are we going to see?" she asked.

"That's a surprise. First, we're eating dinner in the best restaurant in the Angeles PlexiDome. Come on," he said walking toward the HovoLimo waiting for them. He helped them all climb inside with their unpractical gowns. Thalia was wearing a gauzy blue-gray strapless gown with a floral blue belt, with a low bun in her hair. Callisto, on the other hand, was wearing a very modern white mini dress, showing her super long legs, paired with her super long red hair. She had let her hair down, and they blew in the breeze before she climbed in the transport.

Alec's personal security detail, Jasper Baldwin, and two other guards accompanied them. It was mandatory, after all the unrest among the Hackers at the moment. It was kind of weird to talk in front of them, but after a moment, Alec and the girls forgot about their presence and opened up a bit more.

A horde of journalists were waiting for them at the entrance of the restaurant.

"Don't worry," Alec said. "Just smile and let me do the talking. Don't answer any direct question, okay?"

The girls nodded.

Alec had called ahead to reserve the best table, and he also tipped off the Press, by making an anonymous call, to have the people's eyes on them while the Security Department worked on the missing kids and the Hackers.

"Your Highness," the first journalist said. "Three girls, tonight? Why?"

Alec laughed. "Like this I come into town only once, and not three times," he mused.

"Prince Alec, who are your dates?"

Alec looked at the girl to his right. "This is Lady Thalia." And then to the girls on his left. "And this is Lady Francesca and Lady Callisto. Aren't they beautiful?" he asked, and the girls grinned.

"Your Highness," another one said. "There are rumors of missing children. Do you know anything about it?"

Alec kept his poker face smile. "No," he lied. "I've never heard those rumors. And if you want my opinion on it, they're just rumors." He smiled at the journalists, some taking pictures of them. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we're hungry." He chuckled and Francesca and Thalia looped their arms around Alec's. Francesaca also grabbed Callisto's arm and the four of them walked into the building, the three security guards holding the Press away long enough. Then they followed the Prince and his dates, closing the doors behind them.

"What was that about?" Callisto asked once they were seated at the best table, a little to the side, not disturbed by the others.

"What?" he said.

"The 'rumors'," she replied, air-quoting the word.

Alec chuckled. "That's nothing for you to worry about. Like I said, they're just rumors. Now, what would you Ladies want to eat, tonight?" Alec placed his hand on the touch screen on the table and a hologram menu showed up in the middle of the round table, for all to see. "This place makes the best molecular gastronomy dishes in all of Illéa. So whatever you pick, it's going to be good. And pretty," he added.

Francesca chose black ink molecular noodles with candied oranges and a béchamel mousse; Thalia picked an array of pumpkin pie spheres in white ceramic spoons; Callisto went with a smoky Adara forest, and Alec took his favorite: beef tartare with avocado and tomato bubbles.

The girls all gasped at the sight of their dishes.

"It's so beautiful!" Francesca said, gazing at her black noodles.

"Oh my goodness," Callisto said when the waiter took off the hood and white molecular smoke surrounded her.

"These are so cute!" Thalia exclaimed when she saw the pumpkin spheres come her way.

Alec grinned. It worked every time. The place didn't just make food. It made art. Even more impressive than at the Palace.

"So," Alec said, destroying the art in his plate. "Francesca."

"Please just call me Cheska."

"Okay," he said, smiling. "Cheska, tell me what you really do. I'm curious to know if people still buy actual flowers."

Cheska rolled her eyes. "Of course, they do. I bet you've never noticed the floral decorations in the Palace, especially during events," she replied. "But you're right. It is a luxury most people can't afford, or don't want to waste money on." He forked some noodles.

"And why do you think us Geoengineers make it rain at night?" Thalia said. "There are still natural reserves that need watering. Our world is only made of Plexi, plastic, concrete and steel. I think it's safe enough to say that people like, once in a while, to get outside, in the green parts of the country. Right?"

"Absolutely," Cheska said. "Nothing makes me happier than being surrounded by nature." She chuckled. "I sometimes fall asleep in the greenhouse at my workplace, after work. The place is so serene and peaceful." The laughed at that. "But please don't tell my boss."

"Your secret is safe with us," Alec said. "How about you, Callisto. What is it you do again?"

She finished her sip of Champaign. "I'm a Nano-Medic, specialized in pediatrics."

"You work with kids?" Alec asked. "Must be fun…" he trailed off, thinking about Calliope pregnant with his child. He might even have a kid, sooner than planned.

"It is, actually," Callisto said. "These kids have so much to offer. It always pains me to have new patients, because it means they're sick or something, but I just love them all." She chuckled. "And I'll never tire carrying the little ones," she said with a wide smile. "I had my arms upgraded to be stronger, thanks to BioTech. You can always see me with at least one child in my arms. My back, too, is strengthened with BioTech."

Alec smiled. "Too bad we don't have any kids around the Palace. You would have found your happiness here."

Callisto nodded. "I'm sure I can find my happiness elsewhere in the Palace," she said, flashing him a flirtatious smile, which Alec returned.

They continued to talk and laugh lightly while eating. Alec checked the time on the right bottom corner of his Contacts.

"Alright Ladies," he said. "Dessert will be served during the show." He stood and the three girls followed him out of the restaurant and back to the HovoLimo, the three guards making sure no one harmed them. It was a five-minute ride to the theatre, the largest in all of Illéa. It was a spiral complex on the shore, with an inlet of sea completing the spiral. The theatre – stage and auditorium – were underground, with windows looking into the water, just over a coral reef, with thousands of colorful corals and fish. It was one of the most famous ocean reserves in Illéa. People didn't only pay to watch the show, they also payed to see the Coral Reef, participating in its preservation.

"Oh, my God," the three girls said at the same time, their eyes wide and mouths open. Alec was proud of his choice of date, to be honest. He loved to impress. And tonight was no different. They were frozen in place, gazing at the Coral Reef.

Alec chuckled. "Close your mouths, Ladies. You look like those fish," he said, trying not to laugh.

They all laughed and came out of their daze. "This is so beautiful," Cheska said. "But not as much as the Forest Reserve in California."

"I don't think you can compare the Reef to the Forest," Alec said. "They're two very different things." He offered his arms to Callisto and Thalia, and Cheska walked a little behind, still fascinated by the Underwater view. "Come on," he said. "I booked the Royal Box for us."

Jasper Baldwin opened the way for them, and the two others brought up the rear. The Box was situated in the center, on the balcony, with the most perfect view of the stage and the Coral Reef.

Five minutes later, two waiters came in with four plates.

"Ah," Alec said. "Dessert."

On each plate were three perfect golden spheres.

"What is that?" Cheska asked, finally taking away her attention from the reef.

"That, Cheska, is the best dessert in the universe," Alec said. "Poke at one with your spoon," he said with a sly smile. Cheska obeyed, curiosity taking the better of her. But she was afraid to hit it too hard. "A little bit harder," the Prince said, and Cheska poked the sphere. Warm liquid chocolate slowly flowed out of the golden ball.

"Golden Bombs?" Callisto said in awe. "I've heard of these."

"With different flavors," Alec said. "Oh, and did I mention that it's real gold? Edible gold?"

Cheska's eyes widened in shock. "You can't be serious."

"I am," Alec said. "And please don't tell me it's a waste of money, and that we could do a lot of good with it." Cheska gave him a ' _are you serious'_ kind of look. "Gold is cheaper than you think. And it's actually number 12 on the most expensive metals. Do you know what's number one?" he asked, poking one of his spheres, where white chocolate came out.

"Rhodium?" Thalia said.

"That's number two, actually," Alec said. "The first one is-"

"Califorium 252," Callisto said.

"Yeah," Alec said, turning to the red-haired girl. "How did you know that?"

"It's what is used to cure cancer," she said. "We use it when other radiation treatments aren't effective. It's radioactive." She paused. "And it costs between 25 and 27 million dollars per gram," she added.

The two other girls looked at her wide eyed.

"Sometimes we don't have the money to buy it, and we lose patients," Callisto continued. "But not only in our Child's Care Center. Every hospital in this country fights to get their hands on a gram. And lots of lives can be saved with only one gram."

Alec and the others were speechless.

"Sorry," she said. "I tend to babble random facts when I'm nervous."

"It's okay," Alec said, taking her hand. "I'm glad you told me this. I didn't know about the hospitals and such."

Callisto smiled and tucked a strand of her long hair behind her hair. Just then, the lights dimmed and the audience became silent, waiting for the show to start. It was a remake of ' _The Greatest Showman'_ , one of the most spectacular theatre shows in decades. It came around every three years, and it was always sold out in a couple days, running thirty nights in a row. This was the first night of the series.

-x-

Later that evening, the girls couldn't stop talking about the show in the transport, reliving on their Contacts some of their favorite parts. Alec was glad he had brought those three girls with him. They were amazing, and every time after a date he wondered how on earth he was going to choose his wife.

He bid them good night from the Main Entrance. Walking them back to their rooms one after the other would be awkward. Heading to the Vacuum to go up to the fifteenth floor, he heard laughter and voices from the Men's Room. And those were not only men's voices. He opened the doors and found Austin and Christopher playing a game of truth or dare with a group of girls. Among them was Hyo-Joo, Addison, Xandra, Yana, Danielle, and Eryn. Xandra was practically on Austin's lap. They all turned around to look at Alec.

"Can I join?"

"Of course, Al!" Austin said, welcoming his brother with open arms.

Addison yawned. "Actually, it's pretty late," she said. "I'm going to bed. Good night," she said curtsying. The other followed one by one, Xandra being the last, lingering near Austin. Once they were all gone, Alec punched his brother in the arm.

"What the hell, man?" he said, laughing.

"What?" Austin said defensively. "You abandoned twenty-five girls to go on a date with three of them. We had to do something," he said, nudging Chris in the ribs. "We were keeping them warm for you."

"Shut up," Alec said, trying not to laugh.

"How has the show?" Chris asked.

"Amazing, as always." Alec chuckled. "You should have seen their faced when they saw the reef and the Golden Bombs."

"No way," Austin and Chris said at the same time. "You went _there_? The Golden Bombs? Really?" Chris said in disbelief.

"Yep. Turns out it was a waste of my money," he said. "We could do much better than buy edible gold…" he trailed off. "I'm going to bed."

* * *

 _ **Hi guys! thanks for reading, I hope you liked this chapter, too ;) and thanks for all your reviews!**_

 _ **Today I wanted to do something special. I wanted to do a special Shoutout with a special Thank You to 3 different people, the creators or Thalia, Francesca and Callisto:**_

 _ **1) Rysaspirit: I think it's fair enough to say that you're my oldest follower/reader on fanfiction! you've read 4 of my stories, and submitted to 3! OMG thanks for reading, following and supporting me ;) and for reviewing every chapter ;) AND one of your characters almost won a Selection, right?^^ anyway, THANK YOU SO MUCH! **(and you even beta-read one of my originals... which completely sucked, btw (the story, not your feedback)... haha but Thanks!)_

 _ **2) TheGirlWithTheRainbowTattoo: You're also one of my oldest followers/readers, here... but I can't remember for how long^^ But it's safe to say that Bast won one of the Selections^^ and you even wrote a fanfic of my fanfic **(BAST AND DORAAA!) **... HOW IS THIS NOT AWESOME?! Anyway, thanks for following, reading, supporting me, and for chatting with me on Pinterest^^**_

 _ **3) Raspberry_Panda: Now, you have to bear with me 5 days a week... But it's safe to say that you're the best classmate ever! always giving me ideas for my stories** (fanfics and originals) **, and you're, of course, my ALPHA-reader^^ thanks for your crazy ideas, your feedback, and for your friendship!**_

 _ **Okay, enough teary words... lol. Thank you all for reading, reviewing, supporting and following me! ;) see you on the next chapter! Byeee**_


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

"Mother, can I talk to you?" Alec said to the Empress the next morning, Tuesday.

"Of course."

There was a short silence. "Did you already send out the invitations for the Ball in two weeks?"

"No. I was about to. Why?"

Alec cleared his throat. "Could we make it a Charity Gala?"

Silence, again. "What for?"

"You could kill two birds with one stone. Widen the invites. People will want to meet the Selected, and they'll pay good money for it."

"But why do you need the money?" she asked.

"Do you know anything about Californium 252, mom?"

Beatrix didn't answer right away. "It's the most expensive metal in the World."

"The Universe, actually." He paused. "It's really expensive and hospitals fight to get their hands on just a single gram. It's-"

"A cancer treatment," Beatrix cut him. "It's radioactive, I know. But I'm afraid a single Gala won't cover 27 million dollars, Alec."

"But we could at least try."

"And who would you give that money to, Alec? Like you said. Hospitals fight for it."

"I was thinking the Sonage Child Care Centre. One of the girls works there."

There was silence. Calliope thought they were done talking. But then Beatrix talked again. "Okay. But I can't guarantee you that we raise enough money."

"Maybe not for one full gram, but at least it'll help them."

Beatrix chuckled lightly. "This is the first time you asked for a Charity Gala for a specific organization. Why?"

Alec sighed. "Last night I ordered 12 Golden Bombs, at the Theatre."

"You didn't…"

"I did, and I shouldn't have."

Calliope stopped listening. She had heard enough. She mumbled a message. "To Dax," she said. "Tell your source that we're moving up the plan in two weeks instead of three. Big event, here."

She blinked once to send the message on their piggyback Network. She turned off her hacking Tablet. Even if their Network was secure, it was still risky to let it work on its own at all times. She would log in later to snoop around again.

 _Okay,_ she read on her contacts. _You'll be receiving the bot a day before._

-x-

During the afternoon, while Alec was on a date with another girl, Austin was bored. He decided to go to the third floor for some video games. But he didn't take the Vacuum, in case he found someone to join him on his way here. And sure enough, he bumped into a group of girls, heading outside.

"Hello Ladies," he said.

"Prince Austin," Addison said, curtsying.

Korina and Eryn also curtsied, trying to suppress smiles.

"Oh, come on," Austin said. "Stop doing that," he laughed. "Where were you three heading?"

"Outside," Korina said.

"Bo-ring," Austin replied, rolling his eyes. "I was on my way to Level 3 to play some video games. Would you like to join me?" he asked, not sure if they would like that kind of entertainment.

"Yes!" Korina and Eryn exclaimed at the same, and then burst out laughing.

"Seriously?" Austin said, not sure if they were making fun of him or not.

"Yeah," Eryn said. "And I bet you have some pretty crazy stuff," she said, getting more and more excited.

Austin chuckled. "Okay, then." He turned to Addison. "And you Addie? Would you like to join us?"

Addison shrugged. "I'm not really into that, but I can come and see."

"Oh, come on," Eryn said, looping her arm in Addison's. "You'll love it."

The four of them headed to the Vacuum and down to the third floor. He led them to the VR gaming room and the lights turned on automatically, sensing a presence. "Ladies," he said, "let me introduce you to my favorite room in this Palace." He grinned and watched their reaction.

"There's nothing, here," Addison said, looking at the bare gray walls. The room was as big as one of the ball rooms. It took practically the whole floor, leaving room for a few other smaller gaming and HoloCinema rooms.

"Nothing, _yet_ ," Austin said. He walked to a wall, and pressed his hand on it, the touch screen coming to life. "Four players," he said to the computer. Then he turned around to the girls. "What game do you want to play? Adventure? Mystery? Laser Tag? No, not that, we're not enough players. Um…"

"RPG?" Eryn suggested.

"Multiplayer RPG, good idea," the Prince said. "I might have something here pretty cool. What do you say about going to Mars…?"

Eryn and Korina's eyes widened. "Definitely."

"Perfect," Austin said. He talked to the computer. "Four player, Mars Colony," he said, and 4 syringes with the purple serum appeared in a Vacuum Box next to the touch panel.

"Uhh," Addison said. "Does it have to be a syringe?"

"Yeah," Austin said. "But it doesn't hurt, trust me. I do this all the time."

"Go ahead," Eryn said. "Arm or neck?"

"Neck."

She tilted her head to the side, and Austin pricked her neck, emptying the syringe. "You'll get there before us. Wait, okay?"

"Okay," she said.

"Screw it," Addison said. "Just do it." She offered Austin her neck and he emptied the second syringe.

"Korina?" Austin said.

"Um," she swallowed. "Actually, is there another way to get in?"

"Not really."

The two other girls were far away, already in the VR Mars Colony waiting for them.

Korina took a deep breath. Should she tell him? "Can you keep a secret, Austin?" she asked softly, scared the two others would hear, even though they couldn't.

"Sure. What is it?"

"The serum won't work on me."

"Why not? It works on everyone."

"On humans, yes. But I don't have a human body…"

"What?" he said, looking at her with wide eyes. "You can't be serious."

"I'm very serious." She lifted her hair and showed him the tiny neck port she had in her neck, higher than her hairline. "Can't you just plug me in?"

Austin was speechless. "Are you a robot or an AI?" he whispered in awe.

"Android," she said. "Long story short, because the others are waiting. My real body is in stasis at the animal sanctuary I work at. I had my consciousness downloaded to this android, a perfect replica of me my mother made, while waiting to find the cure for the Mrep Virus." She paused. "Look, I'll gladly tell you the whole story, but they're waiting. If there's no way to plug me in remotely to the game, then you better go in."

"No, no, no," Austin said finding his voice again. "I'm sure we can connect you to the game platform remotely." He cleared his voice and turned to the AI console. "I need to connect an android to the platform," he said awkwardly, not really sure this was going to work. He looked at Korina, trying to decipher the Android under the girl. But she was flawless.

"Connect the android's VPN to the Game's Network," the computer replied.

"You don't have an AI, right?" Austin asked Korina.

"No. It's only my consciousness… But I can usually connect remotely to any computer. Maybe I can do that?" She reached out behind her head, higher in her hair, to turn on a switch. "The Computer should be able to recognize me now," she said.

"Connecting to Android," the Computer said.

"Please don't tell anyone," she said before being sent into the game.

Austin injected the serum in his own neck and was transported a few seconds later to the Mars Cologny. "Your secret's safe with me," he whispered in Korina's avatar ear.

"Where were you?" Eryn's avatar said. "We've had to fight off some aliens."

"Sorry, there was a technical problem," Austin said. "Shall we?"

And off they went, deeper in the red planet, wearing astronaut suits and carrying plasma weapons. The gravity was different, and they had to get used to it. Eryn and Korina were right away in their element, being used to VR games and their crazy worlds. But Addison stayed back a bit. Austin took her under his wing. It was them against the Aliens, and they had to secure the red planet in order to save the people trapped in the Colony. Typical.

After three hours, the serum's effect dwindled. "Ten minutes left in the game," a computer voice said.

Austin joined the girls. "We've been playing for three hours. What do you want to do? Continue or stop? If we stop, we can save the game and come back some other time, if you want."

"Maybe we could save the game and come back," Addison said. "Don't get me wrong. It's really fun. But I also like the real world. There aren't any aliens," she said, and the others laughed.

"Okay. Save the game," he said loudly.

"Game saved," the Computer said. A few minutes later, they were back in the bare gray room.

"Thanks for this super fun VR game, Austin," Addison said. "You're different than I expected you to be, to be honest." She smiled shyly and then walked out of the room. Eryn followed, but not before thanking the Prince for the crazy afternoon.

"Are you coming, Korina?" Eryn said.

"I'll be there in a bit," she said. "Don't wait for me."

Eryn chuckled and winked at her, taking her wanting to stay back for a little flirt with the Prince. Which was not what it was.

"Thanks," Korina said softly.

"Hey, it's fine," Austin said. "I hope you had fun."

"I did. You know," she said. "You're the only one who knows about… me. The only people who know are my mother and the scientists at the Sanctuary."

"What happened?" he asked, genuinely curious. They walked out of the room and back to the Vacuum.

"I'm an Extinction Revivalist, and with my boss, we were working on reviving the Wolves of the Pleistocene era. Don't ask what it is," she said chuckling. "But the biological material used to revive them also contained the RNA of a long dead virus. We were both exposed to it. He called it the Mrep Virus as we catalogued the symptoms. They started simple at first: flue-like symptoms like sneezing or coughing. The thing that tipped us off was that the symptoms lasted several weeks." She paused as they stepped out onto a Terrace on the 9thfloor. She continued in a lower voice. "After a month of the initial infection, we started to have some organ failures. Dr. Nero had bought a farmed clone in which he downloaded his consciousness."

"Why didn't you do that, too?" he asked as they sat on a bench a little away from the other girls.

"Because I don't believe in clones," she said whispering. "I was willing to live on the few weeks or months that I had left. But my mother had other ideas. She's a Body part Engineer, so building a whole android body was not a problem to her. She built this body and I downloaded my consciousness. And as I said, I'll go back to my real body once we found a cure. And there you have it. The story of my crazy life." She chuckled awkwardly. Never would she have thought revealing her secret to Austin. "But you have to promise me never to reveal this. At least until I tell you so."

"I promise," he said. "Why would I bail on you?"

She shrugged. "If people knew, everything would go haywire."

"It would," he said. "You better switch off your remote access to computers. If someone detects you, they'll know."

She reached out behind her head and switched the VPN off. "Thanks," she said. "I forgot to turn it off after the game."

Austin smiled. "Are you going to tell Alec?"

She shrugged. "Not unless I have to. If he eliminates me, I won't have to tell him."

Austin nodded.

-x-

"Hey, you, womanizer," one of the Selected called Austin going back inside. She quickly cuffed his hands in his back and started searching him.

"What the hell, Veena-"

She shushed him with a palm on his mouth. "Shut up, Your Highness." She went on, turning his head right and left, feeling his skin for anything. After a minute of this weird game, she uncuffed him and gave him a chocolate. "Thanks, that was fun" she said. "I'll see you later."

Austin rubbed his wrists and looked at the girl with the auburn hair and the bionic arm walk away.

"What the hell?" he mumbled again before resuming what he was doing, going back to his room to change for dinner.

* * *

 _ **Heyyyy ;) I hope you're all doing great! I just finished my practical exams... only one oral exam left** (end of May) **and a written exam** (beginning of June) **and then it's OVER! can't wait.**_

 _ **Thanks for your kind reviews, and a special thanks to those who review** (almost) **every single chapter^^**_ ChillyIce _ **,**_ Sylea _ **and**_ Rysaspirit _ **, among others... ;D**_

 _ **I hope you liked this chapter! as always, i can't wait to read your reviews and what you think about the characters^^**_

 _ **BYEEEE**_


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

At the end of the first week, Alec had eliminated a total of 10 girls. The last few dates of the week were uneventful and boring, and the girls were not interesting, albeit pretty. So he let them go. He didn't just want a trophy wife. He wanted an Empress by his side, one he could count on to rule Illéa with. And those 10 girls were not fit to be that kind of woman. Only 25 were left, and he would make sure the One would be the perfect one.

-x-

"Your Highness?" Alec turned around to see Cass Raylee, the Royal Social Media Manager coming his way. "Do you have a moment?"

"Sure, Cass. What can I do for you?" he said with a smile.

The 29-year-old afro woman smiled. "Do you mind if we go to my office? There's something I want to talk to you about."

Alec nodded and followed her to her office. They both sat down on the couch. "I've already went over this with The Emperor and The Empress," she said, "so all I need is a 'yes' from you, too."

"What is it?" Alec asked, curious.

"You've received an invite from Waverly to the Grand Opening of a new Restaurant there. You and four girls." She gestured on her tablet and showed him the invite.

Alec raised an eyebrow. "What kind of restaurant is it? Why four girls?" he said. "And why me?"

Cass smiled. "Your parents concluded that it would be perfect to show another side of you to the country. You can show them that you're someone who cares about your people, and that you're ready to go to the other side of Illéa to show your support." She gestured on the tablet. "As for what kind of restaurant: they cook and bake everything old-school. And everything, from the design of the place to the work outfits and to the cutlery, is inspired by the 2000's."

"The 2000's? That's 600 years ago."

Cass grinned. "That's what makes it special. They didn't have the tech we had, and they cook and bake like they did 600 years ago."

Alec thought for a moment. "When's the Grand Opening?"

"Monday."

The Prince rolled his eyes. "That's in three days!"

"Yes. Are you doing it? Because if you agree to go, it will be going Live, and you will be staying overnight at the Majestic Hotel."

Alec grinned. "The famous Seven-Star hotel?"

"The one," she said, chuckling. So, do you want to do this?"

"Hell yeah," Alec finally said. "And as for the girls, I want Calliope, Hyo-Joo, Eris, and Petra to come along." _At least I can keep an eye on Calliope and Hyo-Joo, and they won't do anything stupid while I'm gone,_ he thinks, remembering the times he had found them doing something suspicious. _And I bet Eris would find interesting to eat this kind of food, when she's used to today's Kitchen. And Petra? I didn't have a date with her yet._

"Very well," Cass said. "I'll let them know that you're coming, and I'll alert the Press, too. And I'll also tell your father that you accepted."

-x-

The week-end went by pretty uneventful. Alec had a date with Jessica and Veena.

With Jessica, it wasn't planned. He went to the swimming pool to relax after the Report, but she was already there. Swimming naked. Alec was surprised, But Jessica didn't seem bothered by it. She told him it was something she loved doing back home. She thought that nobody would come. Alec stripped down naked, too – asking her to turn around until he was in the pool – and slipped into the water, programming bubbles to help hide a little their nakedness. They had a midnight bath in the royal swimming pool and talked for a good part of the night. He enjoyed her humor, her curiosity about everything, and especially her loud laugh. It made him want to laugh, too.

With Veena, he planned the date: They went for a walk on a beach on Saturday afternoon, taking a HovoCam with them. She was being sweet but a little bit weird, too, always touching his neck or his arms, looking for something, Alec wasn't sure what. But when he asked her what she was doing, she just shrugged and gave him a piece of chocolate. Turned out she had a mini 3D chocolate Printing Machine, and she made them ahead of time. They both ate their share of Chocolates during the afternoon.

-x-

On Monday morning, while the other girls were planning the Charity Gala with Avonlea, Alec met with Cass Raylee and the four girls he had chosen for the visit in Waverly. Cass would be accompanying them, along with Jasper Baldwin and four other security details for the girls. They headed with a small bag each to the Main Entrance on the 9thfloor. The Emperor and Empress were waiting for them, along with Austin, proudly wearing his everlasting flower tie. He liked to be different than the other men in his life, just for the sake of being recognized and seen.

Two Computer Engineers were tasked to shut down the girls' exterior Network while they were on the trip. "For Security measures," the Emperor said. Calliope was a bit reluctant to have her Network shut down for a couple days, but she didn't have a choice. She would catch up with Dax once she returned.

"Have a nice trip," Beatrix said, kissing her son's cheek, as was the custom.

"Thanks, mom," he said, returning the kiss. He shook his father's hand.

Alec thought it was stupid to go through this protocol, especially since they were going away only for a couple days. The girls all curtsied to the Monarchs and followed Alec in the waiting Airship. It was a sleek, pointed, white aircraft hovering a couple feet above ground. Two stair steps descended from the door, and they all climbed in one after the other. It would be a two-hour flight to Waverly.

Inside, the seats were white and plush, making their flight comfortable. They wouldn't even feel the pressure of the speed, or anything else. It was a senseless cruise. The only thing giving away the speed was if you looked out the window.

All four girls were captivated with the aircraft's interior, ordering drinks and snacks from their touchscreens on the armrests.

"Ladies, Prince Alec," Cass said, coming over and sitting on an empty seat near them after a few minutes in the flight. "We will be arriving in precisely 98 minutes. We won't be able to HoverLand near the restaurant, so I arranged for a HovoLimo to meet us there and bring us to the restaurant." She paused, taking her breath. "Once there, we'll go inside, and some of the Press might already be there, but we have a couple hours to get to know the owners and see with them what we're going to do. Once Prince Alec cuts the ribbon, we'll just follow the flow, and see where it leads us." She smiled. "Any questions?"

They all shook their head.

"Good," she said, standing up and walking away to go talk with the security details.

"I really wonder how food was like 600 years ago," Eris said.

Alec chuckled. "I knew you would find this interesting," Alec replied. "I'm curious, too. But I'm also curious about the design and architecture. I mean I've seen some old Holos, but not as old as that."

"I guess we'll see how lucky we are, now," Petra said. "They had to do everything without Tech."

Calliope rolled her eyes. "This wasn't the Dark Ages," she said. "That was 300 years ago, after the entire word's Servers crashed due to sun radiation. They still had Tech in the 2000's. Just not as elaborate as we have now."

One single server in the Chinese sea, under an island in a bunker, hadn't crashed. It was guarded with thousands of Chinese soldiers and Computer Engineers. But a group of Illéan Hackers – payed by the current King – got through the dozen firewalls and Helix++ codes and managed to hack it, making a copy for their country. They were in and out before the Chinese Engineers could do anything. Since then, New Asia and Illéa have the most advanced Tech when everyone else went dark for half a century.

Architects and Scientists built PlexiDomes over the biggest cities to prevent the Sun Radiation to do any more damage to the human race – 10% of the population had died due to the radiation. Biologists and Scientists worked for decades to fix the Ozone layer and were finally able to, after 54 years of work. Geoengineers were then able to control the Weather.

Other Empires and Kingdoms asked for the New Asian and Illéan Tech, ready to pay trillion dollars to have it. New Asia refused to help anyone and kept the Servers and the Tech for themselves.

Illéa, on the other hand, made deals across the world, asking for Natural resources and weapons instead of money. They had enough of that. They took the European weapons – nukes and EMPs – and the African mines, planting their own miners there, in exchange for Tech and help getting out of the Darkness. They also took the Amazon Forest from the Brazilian Empire in exchange for Tech. In one word, they had everything and became and Empire instead of a Kingdom. They controlled the World and still do to this day. The only Empire at the same level as them was New Asia.

And Hyo-Joo knew that. From New Asia herself, she had some help from the Asian Empire, and she was on a mission.

"Prince Alec," she said. "I was wondering what you had planned this evening for the five of us, once the Grand Opening is over," she asked.

Alec smiled. "I don't know yet. But what I can tell you is that The Majestic has every entertainment you can ever possibly imagine. We'll all decide together once we have the menu." He chuckled. "But I heard it's the highest building, there, and that the view from the top of the tower is incredible. It's also the Highest PlexiDome."

"Sightseeing under the stars sounds like a plan," Petra said, smiling.

Calliope rolled her eyes. "Sure, if it's the only thing that interests you when you could do literally anything else."

"Call," Alec said, giving her a knowing look.

Calliope flashed him a grin. "Of course, we'll go on top of the tower to see the view. There's nothing more exciting than this!"

The three other girls exchanged a look. There was a familiarity in Alec's 'Call' that unsettled them for a moment.

"Landing in ten minutes," the pilot said over the InterCom. "Please buckle up."

Alec and the girls pressed on the blue button on their armrest and black seatbelt straps zipped them up in their seats. Petra and Eris looked out the window and saw the PlexiDome approaching fast, and panels at the top opening up to let them in. Five minutes later, they were stepping out of the airship and climbing into the HovoLimo which brought them to the Restaurant.

Alec was the first one to walk out, greeted by a group of HovoCams and journalists already there for the Grand Opening, hoping to get a glimpse of the Prince and the girls before everyone else.

They directly went inside the next-door building – the owner wanted them to have the surprise of coming in afterwards – and they were briefed on a few things.

Hyo-Joo looked around her, making sure not to miss a thing. Everyone thought she was the cutest of them all. Eris and Petra stayed huddled together, talking in hushed tones. Alec took Calliope aside.

"Call, stop being such a killjoy, okay? Aren't you glad I brought you here?"

She shrugged. "You know with my condition it's not easy for me. I always feel sick. I puked this morning," she whispered.

Alec sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry. But I wanted you to be here. I'll have the doctor check up on you when we come back, okay?"

"No!" she said a little too loudly. "No, it's fine. Feeling sick is totally normal during the first trimester. I'll be fine."

Alec tried to smile for her sake. "You sure?"

"Yes. And I'll stop being a bitch. I promise. At least in front of the 'Cams."

"Thanks." He planted a quick kiss on her cheek and they joined the others.

The owners of the restaurant came towards them with Cass Raylee. "Okay," she said. "Alec, you're cutting the ribbon in fifteen minutes, and we're out in two. The Mayor will say a few words, then you will too, here is your text," she added, sending it via his Contacts, "and then that's it."

"Oh, and there'll be some food tasting Live," the Chef said. "You'll be served a whole three-course meal, and the HovoCams will be watching for your reactions."

"Sounds good to me," Alec said.

"Okay, it's time," Cass said. "Let's go. Smiles, everyone."

They all put smiles on their faces and stepped out of the building. They followed the Chef to the entrance of the Restaurant. The Mayor was already there, and he said a few words, talking about the History of Illéa, and how they got here, and how glad he was to have His Royal Highness Prince Alec and some of the Selected with them. Alec also said a few words, following Cass's script on his Contacts. The owner then invited Alec to cut the ribbon with a giant silver pair of scissors, and the crowd cheered and clapped when the red curtain lifted on the façade of the building. It was a perfect replica of an old brick building still up and running in the 2000's. They had used materials as close as possible to those from the past, and the result was breathtaking.

The owner of the restaurant invited the Prince and the girls to follow him inside, where they were seated at a round table in the center of the room. The inside was in a very urban/factory style with black leather chairs, high ceilings, enormous windows, and red brick walls. The Factory design was trending the 2000's until 2020's, and they wanted to recreate this.

HovoCams hovered around them, taking in the whole design and their reactions at the same time.

Two waitresses brought them a paper menu, just for the 'Cams, and then three men in black suits brought the first course: "Mixed salad with grilled goat cheese, croutons and tiny strips of mushroom grilled in a frying pan," one of them said, giving the plates to the guests.

"Oh my God," Eris said. "This is delicious!" she said, tasting the food. "I'm definitely going to add that on my list of meals," she said. Then she looked up at the Chef. "I used to work in the Palace Kitchen."

The Chef chuckled. "Really? Well I can assure you that this a whole different kind of cooking."

"I can tell the difference," she said. "It feels like there are so much more flavors! How did you do it?"

"We make the cheese ourselves," the Chef replied. "You can't find it anywhere like this. Except maybe in Europe. But in Illéa, I think it's safe to say that this is the only place to eat grilled goat cheese."

When they were finished the waiters took away the plates and came back a few minutes later with a Gratin Dauphinois, a dish of potatoes and cream and bacon baked in an oven. The smell was peppery, bacon-y, and inviting. Alec was the first one to take a bite, and everyone waited for his reaction. He closed his eyes as he tasted the food in his mouth. He chewed slowly, taking his time, totally forgetting the people around him and the entire country watching in their homes on their Holos.

"Well?" Petra asked. "What do you think about it?"

Alec opened his eyes and chuckled. "I'm sorry, I was so far away. This is my new favorite dish. The cream and the bacon lift up the potatoes and there us just enough pepper. It's perfect."

The Chef beamed, and the others dug into their plates. It was the same reaction for everyone. The Gratin Dauphinois was a success.

They chatted and ate heartily. They even all asked for a second serving.

Having dessert right away after such a meal would have been impossible. A Journalist – one of Cass's friends – came in and interviewed Alec and the girls, asking them about the food, the Selection and their thoughts on Alec. It was fun and simple. Alec had a good laugh, and so did the girls, the owners, the waiters and Cass.

Then came the moment to try the dessert. It was a Peanut Butter pie with a brownie crust and a chocolate fondant on top. They didn't say what it was because they wanted to surprise their guests. So they blindfolded them and they all had a slice on their plate and had to eat all at the same time. Everyone was waiting for their reaction.

"Oh. My. Goodness," Petra said, eating her bite. And one after the other they exclaimed their love for the pie. They all took out their blindfolds.

Everyone but Hyo-Joo, sitting next to Alec. She was gripping the table trying to breath. She wheezed and reached into her little bag for something. Everyone didn't know what was happening.

"Food allergy!" the Chef said. "Holy shit. Girl, what are you allergic to?"

Hyo-Joo couldn't breathe, let alone speak. She was becoming blue and purple, and she took out a small pen from her bag, clicked the back twice and a thin, sharp, poisoned blade came out. If she was going to die from a stupid peanut allergy, might as well finish her mission. She thrust the 'pen' at Alec's thigh, but her security detail stopped her arm, taking the blow himself, and Jasper Baldwin shoved Alec out of the way, preventing the fatal prick.

Hyo-Joo fell to the ground, convulsing, unable to breath. Level-headed and impulsive Petra looked in Hyo-Joo's bag if she was carrying anything in it to save her from the allergy, but beside a lipstick and a box of eye makeup, there was nothing. She died on the floor of the restaurant, Live, in front of the whole silent, shocked world, next to her security detail who took the poisonous blow instead of Alec.

Cass Raylee was the first one to find her wits. "We need to leave." The security details helped Alec the girls get out of the Restaurant and quickly back to the HovoLimo.

"Where are we going?" Eris asked shakily.

"Back to Angeles," Cass said. "We need to figure this out. Hyo-Joo was not who she seemed to be."

"But what about The Majestic?" Petra asked.

"For another time," Cass said. "Right now, we need to get out of here as fast as possible." She turned to Jasper Baldwin. "Call Bacchian," she said, "and tell him to send a team here to retrieve the bodies and find out what happened."

Jasper nodded. "On it."

Eris and Petra were huddled together, pale as ghosts. Calliope didn't seem bothered by it all. Alec was wearing his very serious face. He couldn't falter in front of the girls. One of them had tried to kill him. He'll deal with that later. For now, he needed to stay strong for their sake. He'll have a proper break down alone, in a few hours.

-x-

Back at the Palace, everyone was shocked into silence as they watched the scene on the HoloScreen in the Women's room. Bacchian was already on it, after Jasper's call, mobilizing a team to retrieve the bodies and find out the whole story. Who was this Hyo-Joo? Why hadn't they found anything about her before that?

Chris, on the other hand, was wondering the whole time why one of the girls looked so familiar… Why hadn't he noticed it before? He'd have to ask his father about it.

* * *

 _ **Heyyy! sorry this one took so long to write... BUT my practical exams are done, and now I have to prepare to defend my project in the next oral exam, and I need to keep studying for my written exams... aaaaanyway... i'm soon going to be dead hahaha**_

 _ **THANK YOU for your reviews and your kind words, I hope you also liked this chapter...** (oh and don't forget to check the "High-Tech and Worlbuilding" section on pinterest... you'll find the Angeles Theatre with the Reef and the molecular food mentioned in the previous chapter, as well as the aircraft in this one ^^)_

 _ **See you all soon! Love ya!**_


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

The minute Bacchian received the call from Jasper, the whole Palace was on lockdown: the girls were sent to their rooms, as well as the Royals. Some girls panicked, and even started to accuse each other of being spies, when there was no reason to do so. Keeping them all apart was the safest way to solve the problem.

A team of the High-Security-Network – also known as the HSN – came over to investigate on Hyo-Joo. No one, besides maybe Alec, had suspected anything from her. She was the cute, clumsy, always smiling and curious Asian girl. Her outburst at the restaurant was a shock to all. The HNS searched her room and found her personal bag. From the outside, it looked like a normal handbag, and when opened, too. There was just makeup in it.

But there was a small finger-print detector hidden in the side pocket. They needed her fingers, but her body was in the morgue. One of the men went there to make a mold of the fingers and create silicon fingers to use to open the bag. And sure enough, a secret compartment opened with all sorts of lab tools and tiny vials with liquids of different colors. Upon analyze, it turned out they were all different Chinese poisons. And there was also her Epipen she had obviously forgotten.

Later that evening, dinner was served in the ladies' bedrooms, and the Royals met with Bacchian and the head of the HSN.

"This girl was linked to New Asia," he said. "We scanned her fingerprints and we found a few things that didn't fit with her ID chip. Clearly it was altered. Turns out her real name was Yu Xian Ni; she was 29 years old and a Nano-Weapons Specialist. She registered as a 20-year-old Nano-Medic. We have a team going out to Baffin as we speak to check where she comes from. But I think it's safe to say that she was on a mission to compromise the Royal Family."

"I'll have to have a word my good friend Deng Yi," Theodor said, frowning, his voice dripping of sarcasm. "Either he's going around our alliance to get to us, or a group under his control has gone rogue." He paused. "What about the Nano-Weapon she used?" the Emperor asked. "How was it not found during the two earlier sweeps?" He furrowed his brow further.

Bacchian cleared his throat. "The HSN analyzed the weapon, too. It was also finger-print controlled. Only she could get the blade out. It's a technology that Illéa doesn't have. It comes from New Asia."

"But how did such a tiny blade kill the guard?" Beatrix asked. "Surely a blow in the arm wouldn't be fatal."

"We sent his blood for analyzes, Your Majesty," the head of the HSN said. "And we received the results just minutes ago." He paused, for effect. "It's Nano-Tech. The Nano-Particles multiply at a huge rate once in contact with red blood cells, creating enough to clog any vein or artery. He was unfortunate to receive the blow in the upper arm, close to the heart. The veins and arteries in the vicinity were clogged in a matter of seconds."

-x-

At the end of the meeting, Alec was the first one to leave. But instead of heading to his bedroom like he was ordered to do, he took the staff's Vacuum, making sure no one saw him. "Level one," he ordered, and the Vacuum took him to the hangar in twelve seconds. He jogged to the back room and changed in a black Nano-Tech suit that fit him perfectly, clinging to his body like a second skin. It was untearable, bulletproof, and undetectable to radars and other drones. It was one of his little secrets. He paid a great price for it a couple years before, using it only twice before.

He chose his Hybrid Harley, the one that made the less noise, made sure it was fully charged, got on it, ordered the Hangar door to open, and drove out in the night. He headed for the closest 'Dome exit and out onto the deserted roads heading south. He needed to be alone, and far away from the Palace for a moment. Or for however long he needed.

He drove without stopping for three hours, which brought him close to Huntington beach. Once there, he went to a small hidden cove and dismounted. He took off his helmet and unzipped his suit, exposing his chest to the night air. He took it all off and ran into the cold water. He didn't go far, though. All he needed was the cold on his skin. He floated on his back, trying to relax. A few minutes later he walked out and headed for his bike. He took out a small pouch in which was a cigarette pack. He took it and went back toward the water. He sat on a rock to let the cold night air dry his skin and lit a cigarette. How long ago was his last cigarette? He couldn't tell. But one thing was sure: he needed to contact the guy again, because there were only three left. And cigarettes were hard to come by in Illéa. They were banned.

He sat there, smoking, watching the stars. He didn't know how long he stayed there. Maybe he fell asleep at some point. How good it was to be far away from the drama and assassination attempts. Being alone was his cure of the heart.

-x-

The next morning, the lockdown was partly up. No one was coming or going from the Palace unless going through Bacchian and the HSN.

Alec didn't show up for breakfast and was nowhere to be found.

After breakfast, the girls met with Avonlea in the Women's Room for their Daily lesson.

"Avonlea," Blair said. "Are we still doing the Gala?"

"Yes," Avonlea replied. "Bacchian will double the security, and every person coming in will be thoroughly searched before entering." She paused. "Now, speaking of the Gala, I want to go over the list of Monarchs who will be there with you. You need to know who you are dealing with and talking to during the evening. Most of them come only to meet you. They don't care about the Charity. They want to have a glimpse at the next Empress, whoever it might be."

She put a small Tech orb on the table in the middle of the rom and pressed a button on the small remote control in her hand. A man appeared on the hologram in the center of the room for all the girls to see. "Who can tell me who that is?"

"The New Asian Emperor," Katia says. "No one can mistake him in his traditional yellow outfit."

Avonlea nodded. "You're right. Do you know his name?"

"Dong Yu Ling," Katia said.

"Almost," the Princess said. "His name is Deng Yi Ling." She paused, changing the picture on the holo, replacing the emperor with three women. "Now let's see if you can differentiate his wife from his two daughters," she said with a sly grin. They all looked similar due to the family resemblance. The girls stared at the hologram for a full minute.

"I think the one in the middle of the group is the Empress," Danielle said.

"Are you sure?" Avonlea asked.

Danielle looked some more, turning around the hologram. "Yes, I'm sure."

"You're right," Avonlea said. "The one in the middle is Fan Xu Ling. The princess on the right, in the green outfit, is Xun Hao Ling, 23 years old, betrothed to a Chinese Duke, who will become the Emperor. Women do not inherit the throne in New Asia." She paused. "The other one, in the pink dress, is her younger sister, Xing Wei Ling, 20 years old." She chuckled. "Since they look alike a lot, as sisters, they always wear those colors in official pictures so people from other countries can tell which is which. Unfortunately for us, you decided to make the Charity Gala black-white-and-gold themed." She chuckled. "But before we get on to the next Royal Family, can anyone tell me how the New Asian Empire works? It's four times as big as Illéa. How does the Emperor control his Empire?"

"From what I remember from school," Korina said, "the Empire is separated in 10 States, just as we are divided in 35 Provinces."

"Correct," Avonlea said. "Each State is ruled by a regent, a Duke close to the Emperor. Xun Hao is betrothed to the Duke of China." She paused, taking her breath. "The Royal City lays in Mongolia, and the Royal Family has secondary residences in every State. All the Dukes answer back to the Emperor." She changed the picture, revealing a smiling family. "Moving on. Who can tell me who this is?"

"The Spanish Royal Family?" Eris asked.

"No," Petra said, nudging her playfully in the ribs. "They're not on the list. Not allies, remember?"

Eris rolled her eyes at her friend.

"The French Royal Family," Xandra said. "I recognize the Prince's smile from the pictures on the Feeds."

"That's correct," Avonlea said. "Though don't be fooled by their smiles. They're our allies, but they're the most cruel and ruthless monarchs."

"Why?" Yana asked, genuinely curious.

Avonlea sighed. "During the Dark Ages, the people killed their king, using the guillotine, just like they did back in the 1700. For decades they didn't have a ruler. Until a young man, François-Xavier Beauregard proclaimed himself King of the people, using the guillotine to eliminate his rivals and the traitors among his so-called friends. Ever since then, the Beauregard Kings have used the guillotine for the death penalty." She paused. "Anyway. This is King Louis Beauregard, with his wife Marie-Ange. And don't be fooled by her name that means 'Angel'. She's the devil on Earth." She went on with the royal kids. "This is Prince Ghislain, 19 years old, and Princess Elise, 15 years old."

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Jessica said, raising her hand. "But why are they invited if they're such a threat?"

"Oh, no," Avonlea said. "They're not a threat to us. They gave Illéa full control of their Nukes and EMP's in exchange for Tech during the Dark Ages. They know that if they walk out of line toward us or our allies, they'll be nuked. They'll behave, here, don't worry."

Verramine raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't be so sure about that," she said. "They must have hackers and spies, too. They could take the Weapons back anytime, right?"

Avonlea chuckled. "That's the thing," Avonlea said. "The slightest suspicion, and France goes 'boom'. They try anything, they're gone." She flashed the girls a grin. "Moving on," she said, changing the picture. She told them about the Italian and Brazilian Royal Families, as well as the Monarchs from the Northern African Kingdom.

"And last but not least," Avonlea concluded her lesson. "The English." A picture of a blond bearded man appeared on the Holo.

"Oh, my God, his eyes are so blue!" Kira said. "I never noticed it before."

"Yes, King James Harrigton is known for his ice blue eyes. His wife, too, has the most amazing blue eyes." She changed the photo to show Queen Sophia. "And honestly, she's my fashion icon," she said. "I get my inspiration from her. She's amazing."

The girls all stared at the Queen in the black gown, her golden hair falling on her shoulder like a cascade. Saying she was beautiful was an understatement.

"The Queen does not have a daughter to overshadow her," Avonlea continued. "She's alone among five men, her husband included. Here are the four Princes of England." A picture of four blond young men appeared in the middle of the room. Gasps and murmurs from the girls erupted from everywhere. The English Princes were quite handsome. "This is the Crown Prince, His Royal Highness Prince Alistair. He's 25 years old, and the biggest womanizer in the world."

Francesca burst out laughing. "Even more than Austin?"

Avonlea laughed. "Yes, even more than Austin, who's an amateur next to the English Prince. And if Alistair flirts with you during the Gala – which he's not really supposed to do, but what can we do, right? – don't take it personally. It's his nature." There was sarcasm and bitterness dripping from her voice, and the girls noticed it.

"Anyway, this is his younger brothers: Leith, Graham, and little Dorian. He's only 13 years old, and the darling of England."

-x-

During lunch, Alec was still missing. Everyone wondered where he was, and a whole team of HSN was looking for the Prince. Had he been kidnapped?

But just after lunch, Austin bumped into his brother on the fifteenth floor.

"Man, where were you?! Everyone's looking for you!" he said, taking his older brother by the shoulders.

Alec shrugged him off. "I'm fine. And I'm right here."

Austin wrinkled his nose. "You smoked," he stated.

Again, Alec shrugged. "Just leave me alone, Austin."

"Alec, you have to tell mom you here. She's going nuts."

"Do it yourself," he said, slamming the door to his room.

Austin mumbled a message to his mother. 'Alec's here. He's in his room, but he I think he's still upset about yesterday.'

He then went down the stairs – he took the stairs more and more, hoping to bump into girls – and sure enough, he saw Francesca wandering aimlessly in the hall.

"Hey. Are you okay?" he asked.

She jumped and smiled when she saw the younger Prince. "Yeah, I'm okay…" she trailed off. "All this thing about yesterday just upset me, you know?"

"Yeah," Austin said. "I know. We're all upset."

"Hey, um, are there any gardens here, beside the Terraces? I just want to be alone for a while."

Austin thought for a moment. "The only gardens we have are on the Terraces. But there's a greenhouse on the roof, if you want…?"

"Oh, yes. Even better," she said, some light coming back to her eyes. "By the way, I love the flowers on your tie," she said, poking his tie with her finger.

"Thanks," he said chuckling. "And I see you also like floral designs," he added, pointing to her dress.

Cheska blushed.

"Come on," Austin said. "I'll show you the greenhouse." He took her hand and led her to the Vacuum. "Roof," he ordered, and up three floors they went. They both walked out of the Vacuum and Cheska's smile and bubbly enthusiasm returned when she saw the size and beauty of the greenhouse. She walked inside and sighed, peace and quiet entering her soul.

"Are you going to be okay up here?" Austin asked, remembering her wish about being alone.

"Actually, could you stay a little while?" She asked, and Austin nodded, sitting on a bench inside the greenhouse. Since the start, this girl was on his list. There was something about her that attracted him to her, but he couldn't quite put his finger on…

* * *

 _ **Hey! Thanks again for reading ;)**_

 _ **I hope you liked this chapter! The Gala is getting closer and closer^^ If you want a glimpse at the other Monarchs, go check the new section on the Pinterest Board... you'll see all their faces!**_

 _ **I'll see you soon for the next chapter ;)**_

* * *

 _PS: Special note for all the Character Creators:_

Can I ask you to start thinking of your Character's outfit for the Ball? as mentioned in the chapter, it's going to be a BLACK-GOLD-WHITE masquerade theme. Those of you who have Pinterest, just pin an outfit (anything you can think of, really: clothes, shoes, mask, hair, makeup, nails, whatever you think useful...) and just write " **CHARITY BALL** " in the description;

For those who don't have Pinterest, if you find an image on google or something, just send me the link via your character's PM (make sure the link works, because this website erases some links... just put some spaces between the words in the link). Or if you want, just describe the outfit really well, and i'll try to find something resembling closely and pin it on Pinterest^^

THANKS FOR YOUR COLLABORATION! ;)


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Alec stayed away from everyone for the rest of the day and came out of his shell only the next morning, as if nothing had happened. He was smiling and being his old self. Truly, his little escapade and hiding had done him good.

In the next three days before the Friday Report, Alec had several dates. First, an afternoon date with Yana. Knowing that she lived as a Seven in a library full of old books, he wanted to show her something special. She was awed by the huge Archive Library the Palace held on floor -1, and which went down for three floors. Turned out she had read most of the classics, and even more.

"Seriously, though, how many books did you read?" he asked.

Yana blushed, which she seemed to do pretty easily. "I learned to read at four years old," she replied. "I lost count of the number of books I read, because you can read a lot in eighteen years," she said chuckling. "And only half of them were novels."

"What else do you read?"

"Anything I can put my hands on, really. From History, to Science, to Geology, Anthropology, and even Technical and Engineering stuff."

Alec chuckled, blown away by the knowledge this girl must have had. "And you remember everything you read?"

"Almost," she said. "Do you read anything? Or are you more of a tech person…?" she trailed off.

The Prince smiled. "I read, but on my Contacts. We're not really allowed to come take a book from here. This room has a protective atmosphere, and it would crumble in pieces if we took one out."

"Oh…"

"Yeah," he shrugged. "Hey," he said, thinking of something. "Have you read anything on mechanics?"

"Sure," she shrugged a shoulder. "Why?"

Alec grinned. "One of my bikes broke down a few weeks ago, and I can't figure out what happened. And I don't let anyone touch them."

Yana laughed. "So you're asking _me_ to help _you_ fix your bike?" She rolled her eyes playfully. "Okay, let's do this."

And between the two of them, they managed to fix the bike. Yana with the theory, and Alec with his knowledge about his baby.

-x-

"Avonlea?" Addison said one evening, finding the Princess alone on a terrace with her Tablet.

The Princess raised her head and smiled when she saw her new friend approaching. "Yeah? Come sit here," she said, patting the lounging chair next to her.

"I don't mean to pry or anything, but um…" she trails off, sitting on the chair, not sure she should be asking the Princess this.

"You can ask me anything," Avonlea said. "And I'll see if I can or want to answer."

Addison chuckled. "Okay." She paused. "The other day, when we were talking about the Royals coming to the Gala, you kind of closed off when you mentioned the English Prince. Alistair was it?"

Avonlea's smile faltered a bit, but she quickly recomposed herself. "Alistair and I… it's- it's a long story. And _old_ story." She chuckled dryly, trying to ease the tension in her chest. "Let's just say he, um, broke my heart when I was fifteen years old, and he was eighteen. I thought he liked me, but he was just starting out his career as a womanizer," she said bitterly.

"Oh," Addison said. "I'm sorry to hear that." She paused. "What happened?"

"I don't really want to talk about that," Avonlea said. "But that's when I promised myself I'd never fall in love again. Men are douchebags," she added with a sly smile. "And I'll never let one trample over my heart any more. It's securely locked away, and I threw the key a long ago."

Addison didn't really know what to reply to that. "But what if an amazing guy comes by?" she said.

Avonlea laughed bitterly. "I'm a Princess, Addie. Men don't just _come by_ , you know?"

"So you'll just push everyone away?"

"Yeah," the Princess replied. "That's pretty much the plan." She shifted her position on her lounging chair to face her friend. "How about you? Any romantic stories?" she smiled slyly.

Addie shook her head. "Nope. My dad did a good job of pushing everyone away, _protecting_ me," she said. "Never had the chance to fall in love."

There was silence for a moment between the two women. "What about Alec?" Avonlea asked. "Do you think there's a chance you might maybe potentially like him?"

Addie blushed a little. "Maybe," she said. "I know he'll be a great Emperor."

"But…?"

Addison shrugged. "I'm a little bit scared," she said opening her heart to the Princess. "I mean, I've never had a boyfriend or been intimate with a guy." She trailed off, finding her words. "I've been in an all-girls school all my life. And the only guys I had relationships with were my dad and my twin brother."

Avonlea smiled and took the girl's hand in hers. "Don't be afraid of Alec," she said. "Although he does have a past with a few girls and women, he'll never hurt you or do something you won't want to. He's a softie. He wouldn't harm a fly." She thought for a second. "Most of the time," she added and both girls laughed.

-x-

The next day, Alec decided to have another group date. He invited Xandra, Elizabeth – also known as Quinn – and Danielle. He took them to the beach in a small cove, not wanting the attention of the public. One HovoCam hovered around them, but he decided when it was on or not. For dinner, he had asked the Palace Chef to prepare a cold dinner, with small sandwiches, appetizers and other small food. And of course, a bottle of wine and glasses.

Xandra was bold enough to sit close to Alec, leaning on him. He wrapped his arm around her, which infuriated Quinn and Danielle. Especially Quinn.

"Don't you want to share, Xandra?" Quinn asked.

"Share what?" she replied.

"We're on a group date. You don't get to have him all for yourself," she said bitterly.

"I'm not the one sharing," Xandra replied. "He's the one choosing. But fine," she said sitting away from the Prince and rolling her eyes. "I'll wait until later," she said, flashing him a flirtatious smile.

Quinn rolled her eyes. "You know, Xandra. Sometimes I really wish Alec could see us when we're alone in the Women's room."

"Quinn," Danielle said warningly, putting a hand on her arm. "Let it go."

"No. He has to know that Xandra is not in it for the Selection or for his love."

"I know that," Alec cut her. "It's the first thing she told me."

"Then why did you keep her?" Quinn asked. "Why is she still here?"

Alec sighed. "This is none of your business, Quinn. I chose whoever stays and leaves. And just because Xandra wants more fame for her career doesn't mean I can't keep her here. If it's fame she wants, I'll give that to her. Because that, at least, is something I can do." He turned to Danielle. "You, Danielle," he said. "Why did you sign up for the Selection. I'm sure you had some reasons, beside that I'm the Prince and all, blah, blah, blah."

Danielle sighed and shrugged. "What if that's the reason?"

Alec chuckled. "See? You're going to have to lie better. Because I know each and every one of you have a specific reason."

"Fine," Danielle said. "I'll tell you if you tell us why you're doing this Selection. Because you didn't seem really happy about it at first."

"Okay, deal. I'll tell you, and you tell me. Quinn, too." She nodded. "I didn't want to do it. I already had a girlfriend. But-"

"Who was it?" Quinn asked.

"Not important," Alec replied quickly. "My father made me do this Selection. He thought that at 25 years old, it was time for me to find a wife and get ready to take his place. Safe to say that I didn't agree with him – still don't – but I didn't have a choice. There you have it." He looked at Danielle. "Why did you sign up?"

Danielle's shoulders slumped a bit. "I thought it would be a fun experience," she said slowly, "and that I could meet new people, including you." She paused.

"Clearly you're not saying everything," Alec said softly.

"You might eliminate me if you know my real motives," she said avoiding his gaze.

Alec raised an eyebrow. "Try me."

She played with the hem of her dress for a few seconds before speaking. "I'm a researcher on Robotic Development," she started. "I've seen what artificial intelligence and robots can do and will do. I wanted to come closer to the Royals to try to convince you to spend less money on Tech Development, and more on the living conditions of the people." She closed her eyes, waiting for Alec's verdict.

There was silence, but then Alec smiled. "Did Avonlea tell you what the Charity Gala is for?"

The three girls shook their head.

"That's what I thought. I had a small conversation with one of the girls about Californium 252 – you know what is?" Again, they shook their head. "The most expensive metal on earth, which also happens to be a cancer treatment when other treatments don't work. It takes 27 million dollars to buy only one gram. And we can save several lives with that one gram."

Danielle smiled. "You're the one who wanted to do the Gala?"

He nodded. "There was going to be a ball anyway. Why not use it for the greater good?"

Danielle threw herself at him, hugging him. "Thanks," she said.

"What about you, Quinn?" Alec said once Danielle was sitting again, recomposed.

"Honestly?" she said. "The chance for Love."

"Seriously? That's it?" he chuckled. "No thirst for money, or power, or expensive stuff?"

Quinn blushed a tiny bit, but thank goodness night was finally falling around them. "No. Just for love."

"And how's that working for you?" Xandra asked slyly.

Quinn shot her a glare. "My first date is a group date. I don't think it's working," she replied bitterly. "But what can I say, right?" She downed her glass of wine and winced as the dark red liquid went down her throat.

After another fifteen minutes of awkward talking and drinking, Alec put an end to their outing and they headed back to the Palace in the Four-Seater. Once there, he bid them all goodnight before he sent them to the Vacuum. He was on his way to the Men's room to meet Austin and Chris, but a hand grabbed him from a door and pulled him in.

"I told you I'd wait until later," Xandra said flirtatiously, running a hand over his chest.

Alec, who had also had a few glasses of wine just grinned stupidly. "You did say that," he said. "Do you have anything in mind?" he flirted back. Clearly, drinking that wine was not a good idea. But who cares, right?

"Listen," she said, coming closer and whispering in his ear. "I'm hot, you're hot, what else do we need?"

Alec nodded in agreement. "You're right," he said. "We're both pretty hot," he said, wrapping his hands around her slim waist. "Even if deep down I know this is a mistake," he added.

"Trust me," she said with a drunken smile. "I'm gonna be the best mistake you ever make." She looped her arm around his neck. "Whoever your girlfriend was, I bet she didn't know how to please you correctly."

Alec thought for a moment, but his mind was blurry. "I can't even remember," he slurred, searching her lips with his. "Who are we talking about again?" Right now, the thought of Calliope was enough to make him want to forget her.

"No one," she whispered. "Let's go to my room," she offered, pulling him out of the room and to the Vaccum. She ordered Level 12, and during the seven-second-trip, they already started making out. She guided him to her room, and once inside, they both resumed kissing and taking each other's clothes off.

-x-

The next morning, he woke up in an unfamiliar bed with a horrible headache. How many glasses of wine did he drink? _Where am I?_ he thought and looked around. There was a brunette girl sleeping next to him, her back toward him. She was naked. Alec closed his eyes as a new wave of headache claimed his skull as the memories came rushing back. _Shit_. He checked the time on the Contacts: 06:23. He discreetly climbed out of bed and put his clothes back on. He tiptoed out of the room – thanks to whomever had decided to put lush carpets in the rooms – and went back to his apartment. He ran into Joel Li, his Valet, just a few meters before getting to his room.

"Your Highness," Joel said. "Is there a problem?"

"No," Alec lied. "I went for an early morning walk. Please have two pills ready with my breakfast. I have a serious headache." And without another word, Alec headed to his room and fell face first on his bed. "What have I done?" he mumbled in his pillow.

Joel Li tried to ignore the fact that Alec was wearing the same suit as the previous night and that is was horribly rumpled. Clearly a girl was involved. But who? This would make a perfect conversation subject among the staff, he though.

* * *

 _ **Hi guys! Thanks for your feedback and reviews on the previous chapter!**_

 _ **Thanks again for reading this chapter! ;) It was not action-paced like the previous ones, but there are still a few girls who needed (and still need) their first date with the Prince before the Gala...**_

 ** _Speaking of the Gala, thank you all so much for your rapidity at choosing outfits on Pinterest! I'm making small moldboards of each character, and they will be posted at the same time as the Gala chapter on Pinterest... dont forget a Mask! ;) and there are still 4 characters who don't have an outfit yet (Blair, Veena, Verra,_** ** _Xandra)... don't forget^^_**

 ** _anyway, I'm leaving below my reply to Anon's review in case they didn't see it... ;)_**

 ** _See ya soon! And I can't wait to read your comments^^_**

* * *

Answering Anon's (Guest) review:

Thanks for your feedback! I am so sorry if you felt offended by how the Asians are portrayed. And you're right I didn't do a good research enough. I went on a random Chinese name generator and picked out names... And of course, what Avonlea says in the chapter has nothing to do with what I think. I made some corrections in the section about the Asian Monarchs, regarding your review. I do hope it's better this way! ;)

And no, the Asians are not the bad guys (at least not the main ones... but you'll see in a next chapter ^^) And we have to remember that this takes place 600 years from now. A lot has changed...

again, Thanks for your review and feedback, and I hope you'll continue reading ;) I'll make sure to de better research in the future...


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Alec had time for one more date before the Report. And he didn't want to do a group date again, especially after the fiasco of the previous night. After lunch, he went to look for Kira. He located her with his Contacts and went straight to her. She was speaking with a group of two other girls, Thalia and Callisto.

"Ladies, may I borrow Kira for the afternoon?"

"Oh, sure!" Callisto said, gently pushing Kira toward Alec. "She's all yours," she said, but not in a mean way. It was genuine and friendly. Kira blushed as she took Alec's arm.

"Kira," he said once they were out of earshot. "Would you like to spend the afternoon away from this place?"

"Oh, yeah, definitely," she said. "All those girls are a bit overwhelming."

"Tell me about it," Alec said chuckling. "But we don't have a lot of time before the Report so let's go. I already took the liberty to ask your maid to pack some stuff for you," he grinned. "Come on."

They went to the Vacuum and down to level one. Kira's eyes widened at the sight of so many old Harleys. "They're all yours?" she asked.

"Yep. I collect them. And this is my last purchase," he said, patting the hybrid bike. He went to the back room and came back with to suits. "Here, wear this."

"Over my dress?" she asked, eyeing the suit suspiciously. And for once she was wearing a short dress, instead of her typical floor-length dresses.

"Yeah," Alec said. "It'll take your shape, whatever you're wearing."

Kira raised an eyebrow. "Nano-Tech fabric?"

Alec chuckled, while putting his on. And just as he said, the suit took his shape. "See?"

Kira did the same, and the Nano-Tech fabric of the suit took her shape, too, crushing the dress underneath. Then, Alec gave her a helmet, and five minutes later, they were gone, speeding on the deserted old road. They arrived at a small private beach in the midst of rocks and boulders, and both took off their biking suits and helmets. Alec even started stripping.

"What are you doing?" Kira asked, a little panicked.

Alec stopped and laughed. "I'm going to put my bathing suit on," he said. "The water is perfect for swimming."

Kira paled a little. "Um, I think I'm just going to watch and sit on the rocks, over there."

"What? But why?"

"I'm not really an ocean swimmer," she said. "I can deal with the swimming pool, but the ocean…" she trailed off.

Alec smirked. "Austin told me you singed underwater in a mermaid outfit. What's a mermaid without the ocean?"

Kira laughed and blushed at the same time. "He told you that?"

Alec shrugged. "Yeah, we talk sometimes. Come on," he said, giving her the bag. There's a bathing suit in there. I'm not looking." He chuckled and turned around, going behind the big boulder to finish changing. When he came back, she was in a silver one-piece bathing suit. "Okay, come dip your toes in the water," he said, offering her his hand. "I'll be here the whole time, I promise."

She sighed and took his hand. They walked on the sand to the edge of the water, and she walked in, until the water came up to her calves.

"See? It's not so hard."

She shrugged. "This is the most I usually do."

Alec walked a few steps ahead of her, still holding her hand. "Come on," he said gently.

She took a tentative step and exhaled.

"Good!" Alec said. "Another step," he prompted gently.

She locked eyes with him, and he realized how beautiful her green eyes were. She took another step until she had water up to her knees.

"The worst part is the belly," Alec said. "But once we've gotten past that, it's easier."

"But I'm so afraid to fall," she said.

"This is different from your other times you tried this," he said.

"How is this different?"

"'Cause this time I'm here to catch you if you fall. And I'm an excellent swimmer."

She tried a smile for his sake. She knew he was trying to help her and all, but her heart was slamming hard in her chest, threatening to explode her ribcage, and her ears were ringing. Her hands started to shake, and she balled them into fists to hide the shaking.

"Kira," Alec said, coming close to her and taking her face in his hands. "It's okay," he soothed her. "To you want to go back on the beach?"

She nodded and they walked back to the dry sand. They both stood at the edge of the water, looking at the horizon, letting the warm wind blow in their long hair. "If you don't mind," Alec said, "I'm just going to take a dip. I'll be right back." She nodded and he ran to the water and dived head first. He was in and out and back next to Kira. He wrung his hair and let the extra water drip in the sand.

"It does seem fun," she said. "But I don't know if I can do this today."

"It's okay," he said. "We can come back some other time."

She grinned slyly. "Do we have a second date, then?"

"We sure do," Alec said. "But next time we'll have more time ahead of us, and no Report to go to afterwards."

"Sounds like a plan," she said. "Oh, and Alec?" he looked up from wringing his hair. "Thanks. For your patience, I mean."

He smiled and planted a quick kiss on her cheek. "I'm a very patient man." He chuckled. "At least I like to think I am." He paused. "Come on, we need to head back if we want to be ready for the Report."

She nodded and took his hand on the small way back to the suits and the bike. They slipped on their suits over their bathing suits and rode back Beverly Hills, the Royal district of Angeles. They both headed to their room to get ready for the Report.

-x-

But before going down to the Report, he headed to the Selected's floor, looking for a specific room. He knocked and a few seconds later a very family face with cognac colored eyes opened the door. She smiled a warm smile.

"Hey, Alec," she said. "Come in."

"Is everything okay, Cal?" he said, taking her hand and sitting on the bed. She sat on his lap. "You seemed pretty distant these last few days towards the other girls."

She shrugged. "Just tired, I guess. I did spend some time with the girls," she said. "Eryn and Korina seem nice. I learned where they work and a few other really interesting things," she said. "I'm not antisocial," she added.

"I'm glad you're making some friends," he said, gently putting his hand on her stomach. "How's the little Peanut doing?" he asked. In the past days, he couldn't stop thinking about his future son or daughter, and the nickname Peanut had stuck with him.

Calliope smiled and ran a hand through his hair. "Fine, I think. But you won't feel a bump, yet," she said. "It's still too early." She laced her fingers with his, subtly taking off his hand from her flat belly. "It's time to go to the Report," she said. He nodded and they walked to the Vacuum and to the Report room, on the fourth floor.

Practically all of the girls were already there, missing only a few. They all took their seats, directed by Clyde Volt, the Report host in his ever present shiny suit, reflecting all the lights from the stage. It was his little strategy to have people not look at him, who was blinding, but to the Royals, and the Selected.

Ten minutes later, the stage director called everyone to silence and to their seats. The curtain opened and Clyde was his bubbly self again.

"Illéa!" he greeted the country. "It's good to be back again! Before we start, we are going to have a little recap of the week's event." He snapped his fingers, and the Holo behind him sparked to life, showing the different dates, starting with the food tasting in Waverly – of course cutting before Hyo-Joo's attack – and then a few dates with the girls, including Yana, Kira, and the group date at the beach. There was also some footage of the girls in the Women's room and around the Palace, and some interaction with Austin, Chris, and Avonlea.

"Well, well, well," Clyde said. A lot of things happened this week, and it's not over, right?" He turned to the girls, and interviewed some of them, laughed with some others, and talked easily with most of them. Then he asked Austin and Avonlea to join him in the center of the stage.

"Princess Avonlea," he said. "How are the preparation going for the Gala? Are the ladies up to the task?"

Avonlea nodded. "They are, and they have great ideas. Twenty-six brains instead of one is pretty good," she said, smoothing out her blue and golden sheath dress. "We do have to find some common ground, of course, because not everyone agrees with everything, but all in all, I have a great team of Event Planners."

"I'm glad to hear that," he said. "And we can't wait to see how this Charity Gala turns out. I'm sure it's going to be the event of the year." He paused. "After the Royal wedding coming up after the Selection, of course." They all laughed. "Speaking of weddings, Prince Austin," Clyde said, turning to the second half of the pair of twins. "How is that working out for you? Have you found any young lady to your taste?"

Austin blushed a little but quickly recomposed himself. "It's not my Selection," he said, chuckling. "Why don't you ask that question to Alec?"

Clyde chuckled. "Come on, Your Highness," he said. "We've seen footage of you interacting with the girls. There must be at least one that you like, right?"

"If I do," he replied, "I'll let you know."

"So taciturn, Austin," Clyde said. "You used to be much more open about women… I wonder who got your attention that you want to protect so much." He winked and then thanked them. Next, he asked Alec to join him on the plush seat.

"Prince Alec," Clyde said. "I'm going to ask you the same question, since your brother refused to answer," he said lightly, joking. "Have you already chosen someone?"

"Not yet," Alec said. "I still haven't gone on a date with all of them," he replied," but I'm almost there," he added.

"Any date you preferred?"

"Oh, Clyde, I can't tell you that in front of the whole country," he said playfully. He bent closer to Clyde and whispered loud enough. "But we can talk privately later, if you want." He winked and the men laughed, joined by the others – royals, selected and audience alike.

They continued joking for a little while, until it was over.

-x-

Later, after a sumptuous and colorful dinner, the girls walked out in a more or less orderly fashion. Alec quickly walked up to them and grabbed Katia's hand. "Hey, do you mind staying back a bit?" he said, and Katia grinned. "Sure," she said. She was wearing a high-low navy blue lace dress with heels the same color.

He led her away from the group. "I wanted to take you stargazing, actually."

"Oh, my God, you remembered?"

"Of course, I did." Thanks to the _Note to Self_ app on his Contacts. "But it's not stargazing like you're used to," he said mysteriously. "I want you to meet me in ten minutes on Level two, wearing this," he said, giving her a large white box that was waiting on a nearby chair in the Dining Room.

She took the package, curiosity taking over. "Okay," she said, and walked to the Vacuum to go change in her room. Alec went the opposite way, down to level two. Once there, he changed in a matching outfit with Katia. He went to the touch screen and gestured a few commands on the panel.

A few minutes later, she appeared in a very elegant golden robe. She walked in the giant room where the swimming pool was. Alec was waiting for her in his own bathing suit, and grinning. Two floating mattresses were waiting for them on the water.

"I don't understand," Katia said. "You said we would be stargazing."

"We are," he said pointing to the ceiling.

Katia lifted her head and finally saw the dark expanse of night sky above their heads. "What… How…" she trailed off.

Alec walked down the steps into the water and invited her to do the same. He got a hold of the mattresses and brought them close to the side of the pool so she could easily get on one of them.

"It's a Holoscreen," he said. "But since the 'Dome separates us from the real sky and that there is too much light interference in the country, especially near Angeles, it's been hard to do real stargazing around here." He paused, watching her reaction. She was speechless, gazing at the fake sky. "But this is what it would look like exactly right here at this time if there was no light or 'Dome or clouds. It'll shift as the time passes, just like the real sky does." He grinned, proud of himself for showing her that.

She smiled too, but blushed when she noticed Alec looking at her. She tried to hide her body with her arms and quickly lay down on the mattress. Alec did the same on his own mattress and they drifted off in the pool. Alec had planned a light current to have them moving around the pool, and he held on to her mattress so they wouldn't drift apart. The starts twinkled over them, and the moon was slowly coming towards them from the side. Katia and Alec lost track of where the North, South, East, and West were.

"Look! A shooting star," she said, pointing to the dark infinity above them. "Can you wish on this kind of shooting star?" she asked. It was hard to believe that a whole Palace of fifteen floors was above their heads. They could have been in a lake in the middle of nowhere, it would have been the same. He dimmed the lights a bit more.

Alec wished he could be back in Hawaii, the only place where he was free of tech and staff, and his parent's oppression. Hawaii was his alone place. A place he loved to go with Austin and Chris to spend some bro time together. An Emperor a few decades ago had bought the Islands for the Royal Families to come. But it had been years since he set foot there.

"What did you wish for?" Alec asked Katia.

"I'm not telling you," she said playfully. "If I do, it'll not come true."

"True," he said. They were silent a moment, lost in the infinity of the night sky.

"Can I ask you something?" she said in a whisper, breaking the peaceful silent and the soft lapping of the water.

"Sure," he said.

"Is it true what Xandra said?"

Alec stiffened. "Depends on what she said," he replied, not sure where this was going.

"That you two slept together."

Alec laughed it off. "She said that?" He paused, chuckling. "We may have had a little make-out session, but nothing more," he lied. Damnit. Why would Xandra say that? He should have told her not to say anything. If this got out – which it already had – it could be bad.

Silence again. But this time the silence was full of tension. Even the water seemed to be eerily quiet, now.

"Is that really all you care about?" she asked, bitterness creeping in her voice.

"What? Sex?" Alec said

"Seriously? Are you kidding me? The first think that come up to mind when I ask that is sex?"

"Wha-"

"So it is the only thing you care about," she cut him dryly. "But you know what?" she said, poking his mattress and sending him floating away. "There's much more to a relationship than just sex! Have you ever been in a real relationship? Where you surprise her with flowers, or hug her from behind? Or even falling asleep together without having sex? Where you would die for them because that's how much you love them?"

There was a moment of awkward silence. Alec thought about it. Did he have that with Calliope? Or was it just some physical attraction? He wanted it to be true. But he knew it wasn't, even though she was carrying his child. "No," he finally said, jumping into the water and swim-walking toward her. "Have you?" he returned the question.

"No," she said after a couple seconds. "But the more _love_ I see, the less _love_ I see. Until you really feel love, it's just a word."

Alec chuckled. "You see," he said resting his chin on her mattress. "That's where you're wrong. I love my sister and my brother. It's not just a word. It's real love. When we don't fight, that is." He chuckled, and Katia laughed along with him, relaxing a bit.

"It's not the same thing, though."

"No? Because surprising my sister with a present or my brother with a bottle of wine and falling asleep together after a Holo is something we still do." He paused, splashing her lightly. "I just need to experience that with someone who I can call family, later," he said.

Katia chuckled and splashed him back. "Then you better work on it," she said. "Because there are still 25 girls in this Selection, and you'll going to be choosing only one to call your family."

Alec nodded. "Your right. But in the meantime," he said, pulling her down from the floating mattress and sending her under water, "why don't we have some fun, right?"

She immerged from the water, gasping. "You actually pulled me into the water! How dare you!" she said playfully, splashing him.

And everyone knows that when two adults find themselves in a swimming pool, they either go for a sexy make-out session, or they become kids again. The latter happened, and Alec hadn't had so much fun in a long time. They swam and laughed and tried to communicate underwater, using bubbles and make-up sign language. Something silly and friendly clicked between them, and he knew he had found a genuine friend who wasn't afraid to give him a piece of her mind.

* * *

 _ **Hiiiii! Thanks for all your reviews on the previous chapter and for reading this one! I hope you liked it^^**_

 _ **And OMG we passed 2k pins on the Pinterest board! thanks for your collaboration with the characters and the Gala outfits!** (still waiting for Blair, Xandra, Veena and Verra... If you don't chose an outfit, I'll find one for those four girls when the times comes to write the Gala.)_

 _ **Speaking of the Gala, there is going to be one more chapter before it starts... I CAN'T WAIT TO WRITE IT! I just hope it will meet your expectations^^ hahaha...**_

 _ **Anyway, thanks for your support, collaboration, reviews and for sticking with me. I hope to have one more chapter up and running for you before my next oral exam on Tuesday morning... if not, it'll come Tuesday night** (Swiss Time... haha) **or Wednesday... we'll see ^^ BYEEEE!**_


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

There were four days left before the Gala. Four days and seven more girls to date. To accelerate the process, he decided on a group date with four of them on the first day of the remaining days. They went for a VR RPG game in the gaming room, and they did two games, four hours of gaming. It was always a bit unnerving to get back to the reality of life after such an experience, but he was used to it. The girls weren't, though.

 _After the Gala, I'm thinning the Selected. Four will be going, and only 20 will remain,_ he thought, going back to his quarters. When he opened the door, Chris was there, looking outside, at the white city beyond.

"Chris?" Alec said. "What are you doing in here? Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," he said curtly.

"Chris," Alec said, rolling his eyes and taking the chair from his desk, turning it around and sitting with the back rest in front of him. "You can't fool me. What's wrong."

"Nothing." The younger man kept on looking out the window.

"Man," Alec said. "We grew up together. We're practically brothers, and I know when something's wrong."

There were a few moments of silence. "What if you had grown up with my twin sister, instead, Alec?"

"What are you talking about?"

Chris turned around and met Alec's ice blue eyes. "You know I'm adopted, right?"

"Yeah, who doesn't?"

"Well, turns out my biological twin sister is in your Selection," he blurted out.

"What?! You're kidding," Alec said, incredulous.

Chris shook his head. "No. See for yourself." He handed him a tablet with the girl's file on it. Alec raised an eyebrow. "She does look like you," he conceded. "But does that make her your sister? Let alone your twin?"

"It does. All I knew of my biological family, was the Province they were from, and that I had a twin sister. She's from there, as you can see, and her birthdate is the same as mine." He paused, and before Alec could reply, he added, "And I ask my dad about it, and he confirmed it."

"Holy shit," Alec said. "Are you going to tell her?"

Chris shook his head. "No. I don't want to. If she figures it out, then good for her. But I'm not telling her."

"Why not? Aren't you happy to find out who your sister is?"

"Of course, I am, Alec. It's just… I don't want to get her unfocused from your Selection."

"Oh for Christ sake, Chris. Just go tell her. Or I will."

"No, please don't." He sighed. "I asked my dad to tell her if she doesn't figure it out on her own."

"How would she?" Alec said. "She doesn't have access to your data, or any data at all." He chuckled. "She maybe doesn't even know she has a twin."

Chris shrugged. "So what? She already has four brothers and sisters."

"Holy shit, Man," Alec said standing up and taking Chris by the shoulders. " _You_ have _five_ brothers and sisters! You're not an only child anymore!"

"Blood doesn't necessarily make family, Alec. Clearly they had enough kids and decided to dump me in an orphanage," he said bitterly.

"Bro," Alec said, rolling his eyes. "Look where you ended up! You're a Two, almost head of the Security department – after your father – for the Royal Family!"

Chris chuckled. "Maybe you're right," he said. "But I'm still not talking to her. Not yet."

-x-

The three days just before the Gala, the girls were overly busy taking care of the last adjustments, decorating the four Ball rooms, choosing the food, and most important of all, choosing their outfits. Each and every one of them wanted to stand out in their gowns, making sure Alec would notice them in the sea of black, gold, and white, and in the middle of all the important guests and Royals that would be attending.

Until only two days were left with three girls to date. Alec invited Eryn to go taste the food prepared for the Gala in the Kitchens. The Chef had prepared for them platters with two of each appetizer and petit-four, and other amazing food, and they had fun putting notes on them, deciding which was the best.

"So," Alec said, once they were full, and digesting. "You live on the Floating City, right?"

"Yep," she said. "Best place in the world," she grinned.

"I bet. I've never been there, before," he added. "How do you get from the city to the mainland?" he asked. "Boats? Submarines?"

"People usually take the Sub'," Eryn said. "But that's highly uninteresting. I mean, it's fun for a while. But once you get the idea of the ride, it's boring. And really slow." She rolled her eyes. "I always choose speed over the comfort of the Sub."

"Speed? As in race boats?"

She shook her head and grinned. "Nope. I'm more of a jetski person," she said. "And I heard you're a speed person too."

"I definitely am. Though I do have to admit that I prefer the hard ground to the icy waters."

Eryn laughed. "It's not that cold. And I always wear a Nano-tech suit that keeps me warm."

Alec grinned. "You know, I could use a little digestive stroll, don't you think?"

She patted her belly full of the Gala delicacies. "Definitely." They both stood and headed for the door. "Where are we going?"

"You wanna see my choice of speed?"

Eryn nodded enthusiastically. He took her hand. "Come on," he said, walking to the Vaccum, and ordering Level one. "By the way," he said, looking on her hair. "I noticed you're always wearing that headpiece," he says. "Did you bring it here?"

She nodded. "It's not just a random piece of jewelry," she replied mysteriously, smirking.

"No?" Alec said with the same playful tone. "Is it a weapon?" They stepped out of the Vaccum and into the Hangar.

"Even better," she said. She took the hair comb out of her hair, letting her hair fall around her shoulders. "Have you ever heard of Swiss army knives?" Alec nodded. "Well it's more or less the same thing. But instead of blades and other sharp devices," she said picking out a part of the comb, "it's a tiny medical case. This one, for example, is an anti-allergic." She takes another part out. "This one is anti-anaphylactic, and these are anti-venom and anti-drugs."

"Huh," Alec said. "That would have been useful in Waverly." He paused in front of one of his bikes, but instead of changing the subject, he continues on with Eryn. "What is it you do again?"

"I work on Nano-bots application in medicine. For example, my eyes."

Alec came closer to see. "I don't see any difference."

"Nope, because it's biotech. But behind the bio exterior, nano-bots are working their magic. I was diagnosed at seven years old of an illness that attack the eyes' cells and causes blindness. My father would have none of that and looked for a specialist. He gave me new eyes, and now I work for him."

"That's so awesome," Alec said. "What else have you invented?"

"Bees," she said. "BeeBots. The earth would have died without bees, and they have been extinct for several decades. But Scientists created BeeBots to help cultivate flowers and other plants. Lots of people bought Beebots to help their cultures." She paused, walking around the hangars slaloming around Alec's bikes. "But mine are different," she said. "They are normal bees helping me in my garden with my medicinal herbs, but some of them have tiny cameras and microphones on them."

"You created NanoSpies?" Alec asked, surprised.

"No, no, no," she said. "It's so I can see what they're doing in my garden. You know, the life of bees is super interesting. How they communicate is amazing."

"But they're robots," he said. "They communicate via Tech, right?"

"No. They're programmed to live and communicate and work like real bees used to. And seeing how they organize themselves in the hive is fascinating, really." She paused. "So, which bike is your favorite? Or the fastest?" she asked, patted the seat of the one she was standing next to.

"Now, we're talking," he said jokingly. "Not that your bees aren't interesting."

Eryn laughed. "What are you talking about?" she said. "We came down here to talk about your bikes, not my bees." She rolled her eyes and waved the matter away. "So, which one?"

Alec wiggled his eyebrows and walked to a black and gold bike. "This one. It's not the fastest, but it's the most beautiful one." He gently ran his fingers on the shiny handlebars. "And it doesn't look like it, but it's the one I drove the most on."

Eryn joined him next to the bike, and she also ran her fingers on the seat. "Wow, it's beautiful…" she trailed off. "Where do you go with it? I mean, I don't think your mother lets you get out of this place without your security detail, right?"

Alec chuckled. "If only she knew…" he trailed off. "Every opportunity I get, I get the hell out of here."

"But you must be monitored. How do you get away without her knowing?"

"I have my secrets," he said mysteriously.

Eryn chuckled. She asked him other questions about his bikes and his outings, but Alec was rather vague on those…

-x-

The next day, Alec could feel the tension in the palace. Everyone was running to and fro, getting last minutes details ready for the next day. The remaining guest rooms – the ones on the 14thfloor – were getting prepared by the staff, and the Selected were taking care of the Ballrooms, and all that would happen during the Gala. Thank goodness Avonlea and Cass Raylee were good at Event planning. The Princess was the Captain of the ship, and everyone obeyed and took her advice.

Alec stole Addison during the afternoon and took her out of the Palace for a small hike out of the 'Dome to see the Ocean from afar. The two of them talked and joked a bit; but she was clearly a little bit wary of him. Her talk with Avonlea a few days ago came back to mind, though, and she decided to believe the Princess: Alec wouldn't hurt her or try anything on her. And of course, he didn't. He had learned his lesson with Xandra, thank you very much.

Then they had to come back an hour before dinner, so they could both change and get ready for it.

After dinner, Avonlea found Addison alone on a Terrace, looking out at the city.

"Hey," Avonlea said. "How was your date with Alec?"

Addison shrugged. "I don't really know. He seemed to have other things in mind. But you were right on one thing. He wouldn't harm a fly."

Avonlea chuckled. "See, I told you. There was nothing to be afraid of." She paused. "As for the fact that he may have had something else in mind, I can pretty much guess what it was."

"What?"

"Alec's not a social person. He's much happier alone, in his room or somewhere else. And having to interact with so many people in so little time is a bit overwhelming for him."

"Oh."

"Yeah. So don't take it personally. Especially with the Gala coming tomorrow, he knows he'll have to socialize even more, and show off to the other Royals. And he hates it. Trust me. When we were kids, he would disappear in the middle of events, and mom would find him huddled either in his room, or in the Hangar. He only had the one bike, at the time."

Addison raised an eyebrow. "Wow, I would never have thought," she said. "He seems so genuine and easygoing."

"That's all an act," Avonlea said. "But please don't tell him – or anyone else – I told you that."

She zipped her mouth, and the two girls laughed together.

"Hey, I've seen the outfits of everyone already, but not yours. What are you wearing tomorrow evening?"

Addison looked at her feet. "I have no idea. My maids keep coming up with these crazy gowns, but I don't feel comfortable in them. They're not _me_ , you know?"

Avonlea nodded slowly. "I know the feeling. Come with me," she said. "I have an idea."

They walked to the Vacuum and Avonlea ordered the 15thfloor. None of the Selected – Calliope excepted – had been there. Addison didn't say anything, looking all around her at the luxury of this floor. Then, Avonlea pushed open a door, and they walked onto the Princess' Bedroom.

"Oh. My. God," Addison said. "This is your room?"

Avonlea nodded. "Yeah. Come on, I want to show you something."

Addison followed Avonlea in front of a giant touch screen. "This is my Screen Wardrobe," she explained. "Stand right there," she directed Addison on a not-so-random spot on the floor, and a laser green light ran over Addison's body three times, until it beeped. "Do a quarter turn," she ordered, and Addison obeyed. And they repeated the process until she had her whole body scanned.

A few seconds later, Addison's HoloCopy showed up in her place, and Addison stepped away. "What the-" she said, looking at herself. "What is that?"

Avonlea chuckled. "This is a HoloCopy of yourself. We will be able to try on dresses on you, without actually doing it. And once you chose one, we're simply going to press on that button and it'll be 3D printed and sent here when it's done."

"You can do that?" Addie said in awe.

"Yep," the Princess said. "So, let me see. An extravagant dress won't do on you. Your maid doesn't have one ounce of fashion style." She rolled her eyes. "No, you need something close to your body, something that will show your curves. And you'll want that, if you want Alec noticing you."

She gestured over the screen, and a dress appeared on Addie's HoloCopy. "No," Avonlea said. "Not strapless. You need something covering your shoulders. Let's see…" She gave some more commands to the screen and the top of the dress changed with tiny sleeves. "Do you like it?"

"Maybe not sleeve," Addison said. "Just straps? And a high neckline… I'm not comfortable with showing my cleavage…"

Avonlea nodded and gestured a bit more on the screen. "Now?" she asked, and Addison grinned. She didn't have to say anything. The dress was perfect. "Now for the color," Avonlea said. The basic color was white, but she changed it to black, and then gold, but Addison preferred it white. "Very well," the Fashionista said, pressing the button. "Let's print it."

Then she showed Addison her shoe collection – all 3D printable and already programmed – and Addison chose a black pair of stiletto sandals. They spent the rest of the evening designing the jewelry and mask, and Avonlea was really happy to have a girl's night, for once.

-x-

Meanwhile, Alec was spending some time with Korina, getting to know this petite girl from Midston. She told her all about her job as a revivalist but made sure not to mention what Austin already knew. If she didn't have to tell Alec who she really was, she wouldn't tell him. The problem was that Alec seemed to enjoy this date. Maybe she would have to tell him at some point. They had a second dessert on a terrace, alone, and it was really romantic. But Alec also knew that this was the last "first date" he was having. He would soon need to start making choices… But now was not the time, and he tried to stay focused on Korina.

-x-

Everyone was very busy that evening. And one of them was Austin. He went to the roof, his rendezvous point with the brunette, as they had done for the past week, with a pink peony to give her. He knew it was her favorite flower, so he had gotten to many lengths to find one. But she was not there yet, and he was alone. And instead of finding her, he found an army name tag.

"Daniel K. Ventura," he read out loud. "Seriously?" he said bitterly to the wind. He stuffed it in his pocket and sat on their bench, waiting. She came a couple minutes later, a wide smile on her face.

"Hey, you," she said, sitting down next to him and planting a kiss on his cheek. But Austin was as rigid as a tree, not showing any affection towards her. "What's wrong?" Cheska asked. "Austin, what is it?"

"Why didn't you tell me you already had a boyfriend?" he blurted out, more hurt than he would like to admit.

Cheska's shoulders slumped. "I thought I'd lost it," she said. "Where did you find it?"

"Right here," he said giving her back the army name tag. "Why didn't you tell me anything?" he asked angrily.

Cheska was silent for a moment. "It's been about three years," she said, "since he died."

"Oh," Austin said, taken aback. "I'm sorry."

"Daniel and I were married for a month when he signed up for the Draft and into the army. I never saw him again." Tears were threatening to stream down her cheeks.

"Cheska, I'm so sorry," Austin said, taking her hand in his. "I shouldn't have said anything. You would have told me anyway, I-"

"Stop babbling," she said. "Do you want to know my story or not?"

Austin shut his mouth and nodded.

"We were high school sweethearts and married young. We just _knew_ we were meant for each other, you know? And then when we married, he had this stupid but sweet idea to give me a better life. He knew that if he was drafted in the Army, we would be in a better Caste when he came back. Only he didn't. We wrote each other for a year, and then it stopped. That's when I received a note from his Lieutenant that he had _died honorably in service_ ," She quoted sarcastically, and she was crying now. "Seriously, Austin. What's _honorable_ in death, right? Nothing! And I was left alone, miserable, and heartbroken. He was the only man I had ever loved." She paused, looking at her fingers intertwined with the Prince's. "Until now, maybe," she said, drying her tears.

Austin didn't know what to say. He simply pulled her close to him and held her like that. "It must be awful to lose the person you thought you'd spend your life with," he said softly.

"Yeah," she said. "It felt a lot like dying, or being empty. And it's that void you can't exactly fill with alcohol or people. And trust me when I say that I kissed more bottles then men," she added, half crying, half chuckling. "And honestly? The hangover hurts more than the heartbreak."

Austin chuckled. "I can't say if I've kissed more women or bottles…"

They stayed like that a moment, not talking, just listening to each other's heartbeats.

"Austin?" she asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah?"

"Is it even possible? Us, I mean."

He was silent a moment. "I wish it were," he finally said. "But I don't know. In the meantime, we're going to enjoy every little moment we have. Hey," he said, turning her so she was meeting his gaze. "Can I reserve a spot for your first dance, tomorrow night?" he asked slyly.

"You may," she said, smiling back. "And all the other dances, too, if you like."

Austin grinned, took her chin in his fingers and leaned in, placing his lips on hers. This was a totally new feeling for him. He had hordes of butterflies fighting their way out of his stomach, and his heart was beating fast. _Is this what love really feels like?_ He thought, kissing her tenderly and then more passionately. She kissed him back and all was perfect. There was no Selection, no Alec, and no Gala the next day. It was just the two of them…

-x-

On the other side of the roof, Calliope was retrieving the 'bot that was sent for her, exactly as Dax had said: the day before, you'll get the 'bot. She saw Cheska and Austin kissing, but ignored them, quickly going back to her room to get everything ready and go over the plan again.

* * *

 _ **Heeyyy... OMG sorry for the delay... I really wanted to post the chapter yesterday, but there was a setback... There was a huge storm, and water infiltrated in the classroom roof and soaked all our miniature exam models...** (I posted a picture to show you on Pinterest, not in a section, but at the bottom) **and it was completely destroyed and I had to rebuild it... anyways...**_

 _ **I hope you liked this chapter, and that you're ready for the Gala! OMG I can't wait to get onto it... *Laughs maniacally and rubs hands in anticipation* ^^**_

 _ **see ya soon!**_


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

All the guests had arrived, and the girls were all excited, huddled in groups of two or three, and discussing the other royals or the other guests. The only colors in the room were black, gold, and white, and the glitter and shine blinded everyone.

On the side of the grand Ballroom, Emperor Theodore was talking with the New Asian Emperor, Deng Li Ling, all dressed in black and gold.

"I made some research, at your demand," the New Asian Emperor said with a slight accent. "But I have not given those tools or that poison to Yu Xian Ni, nor do I know this girl." He paused, and Theodore frowned.

"But those tools and poison come from-"

"I know they come from my Empire," Deng Li cut him. "And it can only come from the State of China. The Duke of China was funding what Yu Xian Ni was doing. He was betrothed to my daughter and would replace me one day." He frowned. "He won't be anymore. I oversaw the execution myself. I will not tolerate traitors in my midst…" he trailed off and started chuckling. "And the gods know you own Europe's nukes," he said. "And I have some of my own, too. And if we both start bombing each other, the whole planet will die. It's in our best interest to stay on friendly terms."

"I agree," Theodore said. "Although we both know that biological warfare would be much more efficient." Both men chuckled as if discussing the latest Holo Series.

In another one of the four ballrooms, Cass Raylee was overseeing that everything went according to plan while Avonlea socialized. She was talking with some of the most famous fashion Designers of Illea, who were complimenting her choice of gown for the evening. She had a painted black and gold mask and was wearing a gold off-the-shoulder dress covering only one breast, the other was subtly covered with golden lace; the same golden lace covered one of her legs, clearing showing that she was wearing no underwear…

"Your Highness," she heard from behind her.

The Designers stopped talking and stared at the tall, blond young man behind her in awe. They bowed slightly and walked away, giving room to the English Prince to speak with the Princess.

"Alistair," she said coldly, turning around. "What an unpleasure to see you," she said, a hand on her hip.

"I wouldn't say the same, Aves, I-"

"Don't call me that," she cut him. "You lost your right to call me that years ago."

Alistair rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, Avonlea. It was seven years ago. Can't we get past that?"

"No," she said. "And besides, you look utterly ridiculous in that golden suit and half mask." She shook her head in disbelief and walked away, looking for Addison. If Alistair was in the vicinity she would make sure he wouldn't get his dirty hands on her.

For now, people were socializing, eating the petit-fours and appetizers and gold-black-white food passed around on golden trays by waiters in all-black suits and white bowties. Black Champagne flutes decorated with golden sugar on the rim lightly clattered together as people got reacquainted or met for the first time.

Alec – dressed in a white suit with golden shoes and a half black mask – was standing with Chris and Prince Leith, Alistair's first younger brother. "So," Leith said. "How's your Selection going?" he asked in a strong British accent.

Alec shrugged. "Well, there are twenty-four girls left, several tried to kill me, and one died in the process of trying to assassinate me. What's new?"

Leith's eyes widened. "We heard about what happened in Waverly. But when you put it that way, it seems like one bloody hell of an adventure," he said, chuckling. "Don't you just want to abandon everything and save your own life?"

Alec and Chris laughed at the same time.

"You think he can do that?" Chris said slapping Alec's back. "He would have already done it if he could."

Leith chuckled too. "But didn't you already have a girlfriend?"

Chris and Alec exchanged a look. "Calliope Norwood," Chris answered for the Prince. "And believe it or not, she's in the Selection."

"What?" Leith said, choking on his Champagne. "Why are you keeping her here? And how did she get in?"

Alec shrugged, sipping his own Champaign. "I honestly have no idea how she got in. Either it was a strike of luck, either I'm suspecting she paid a really good hacker; although I can't explain how you could hack a random paper draw."

Leith raised an eyebrow. "A really, _really,_ good hacker, then. And why is she still here? Do you still love her?"

"No," Alec said a bit too quickly. "And I don't think I ever loved her," he added. "Avonlea called her my _fuckbudy_."

"Not only Avonlea," Chris smirked, and Leith laughed.

"Shut up, Chris. You're supposed to be on my side," Alec said, faking offense.

"But why are you keeping her?" Leith asked again.

Again, Chris and Alec exchanged a look. "Let's just say she has something on me, and I can't really kick her out, right now."

"This is getting more and more interesting," he said, looking around the room. "Which one is it?"

Alec looked around, but he wasn't really that tall, and couldn't see over the people's heads. Chris, on the other hand, was 6'2'' and could easily see over people's head. "Right over there," he said, pointing to his left, "in the huge black dress. She's sipping Champagne and talking with two other girls." Calliope was indeed talking to Korina and Eryn. But Alec frowned.

"Excuse me a minute," he said, walking towards the group of girls. He had to pass several people who were all eager to greet him. He indulged them, keeping an eye on Calliope so she wouldn't get away. After exchanging a few words with the people on his way, he finally got to his destination. "Ladies," he said, taking Calliope's glass. "Calliope, I remember you telling me you didn't like Champagne," he said, which wasn't true at all, since it was one of her favorite drinks.

Eryn and Korina exchanged a curious look.

"Let me get you arnothe drink," he said to Calliope. "Korina, Eryn, we're going to the Open Bar. Can I get you anything?"

Korina refused, but Eryn asked for a Rosé. Calliope and Alec walked away. When they were alone, he pulled her behind one of the black velvet curtains. "Cal, you're not supposed to drink alcohol," he hissed. "It's basic knowledge."

"Oh, Alec," she said, putting a hand on her belly. "I couldn't resist. I only had a sip. You know it's my favorite."

"I know," he said. "But you're not drinking tonight. I'm getting you a glass of water. Come on." They went to the Open-Bar. "A glass of water for the lady," he ordered the waiter. "And a glass of Rosé, too." The man gave him two glasses, one he gave to Calliope, and the other he kept for Eryn.

"I'll bring that to her," Calliope said, taking the second glass. "Go socialize and make friends," she said slyly, knowing very well that he hated that part.

Alec stiffened at her comment.

"Oh," she said, coming back towards him and whispering in his ear. "You better keep an eye on your little whore of a brother," she said. "He's stealing your girls." She flashed him a grin and walked away, swaying her hips.

Alec took a deep breath and let it out slowly. _Pregnant or not, she's not staying in this Selection_ , he thought bitterly. When he turned around to get himself a drink, he saw Quinn asking for a Pinot Noir, his own favorite.

"Now that's a plan a can support," he said joining Quinn. "Make that two," he said to the waiter, and the young man all dressed in black gave them their golden glasses. Alec invited Quinn to walk to the side of the room, near the Terrace to get some air.

"How are you liking the evening?" he asked.

"It's amazing," she said. "Everything is absolutely beautiful and amazing. With everyone dressed in the same colors, it just makes it more magical."

Alec chuckled. "It does. Oh, and did I mention you look beautiful, tonight, Quinn?"

She was wearing a thin mate golden dress, revealing her curves nicely, with a golden glittery cat-eyed mask.

"Thank you," she said, blushing a little. "You clean up pretty well yourself," she said, looking at him. "Although I was expecting something much more extravagant…" she trailed off, nudging him playfully in the arm.

"There are enough people that are way too extravagant tonight," he said, looking around, and chuckling. "Like that lady over there with the giant ruffled feathers? People have to take a detour to walk around her, or be stabbed in the eye."

"Who is she?"

Alec shrugged. "Don't know. A Celebrity, maybe. The invites went to many people, and I didn't even see the list." They were silent a moment, sipping their glasses of Pinot Noir. "Quinn, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Why Quinn? Elizabeth is a perfectly elegant name."

Quinn chuckled. "I knew you'd ask me some day. First of all, I don't like Elizabeth. Secondly, Quinn is me second name. And thirdly, in my line of work, there aren't many women. So I use _Quinn_ so people don't know if it's a male or female name, and I get much more credit. Until they see me, and understand the subterfuge, and I love seeing their reaction." She chuckled, and Alec joined her.

"Fair enough," he said.

"Oh," she said, looking at her wine. "I'm sorry I kind of lashed out during our group date," she said. "I meant to tell you this sooner, but I didn't have the chance."

"It's okay," he said. "Thanks." He paused, "It ended up being a pretty awkward evening."

Quinn nodded and chuckled. "Just be careful with Xandra," she said. "She's not what she seems to be…" she trailed off.

"Do you know something about her that I don't?" he asked.

"Maybe," she said. "But it's not that hard. All you need to do is check the Feeds and put two and two together. And I'm sure you have much more information than I do…"

Alec nodded. "I'll do that. Thanks." He sipped his wine. "If you'll excuse me," he said, "I'm trying to see all the Selected, tonight."

"No problem," she said with a smile. He took her hand and kissed the back of it, his lips lingering on the smooth skin.

He walked away, sighed, and gathered his courage to go into the party to socialize. He would really need at least three days alone, after this ordeal. Why on earth did he tell his mother to invite more people? Oh yeah, the Californium 252. And with that in mind, he went to look for Callisto.

He found her in the third ballroom he was searching, talking with Thalia and a group of other people, Alec had no idea who they were. He approached the group, and all stopped talking and bowed and curtsied to him. He wanted to roll his eyes and dismiss the bowing, but it was etiquette and he couldn't go around it, especially in a formal even like this one. Callisto was wearing a very elegant black dress with a low 'V' in the back, white 3D printed shoes and arm cuffs, and had an asymmetrical black lace mask. Thalia was also wearing a black gown, covered in glitter with golden shoes and accessories. The people they were talking with turned out to be famous Doctors and Nano-Medic specialists, and Callisto was totally in her element.

"Your Highness," one of the Doctors said, "we are honored that you chose to dedicate this Charity Gala to the Medical Branch. You are saving lives."

Alec bowed his head. "It was Callisto, here, who gave me the idea," Alec said, gently resting his hand on her arm. "She told me about her job and we ended up talking about the most expensive metals and she told me why Californium 252 was at the top of the list. Thalia was also with us when we had this discussion."

"Yes," Thalia nodded. "It was really interesting," she said. "I'm absolutely not in the medical branch, but I found it fascinating.

"What branch are you from?" the Lady asked her.

"I'm a Geoengineer," she replied.

And the conversation went on. After a little while, Alec excused himself and headed directly for the side of the room, where the least people were, and where it was easiest to walk through. On his way out of the room, he bumped into Kira, Eris and Petra.

"Ladies," he said. "Are you having a good time?"

"A _great_ time," Petra said. "I can't believe I'm actually here. I have to always pinch myself to remember this is not a dream," she said, chuckling. "But thank goodness Kira and Eris are with me, because they're real, and…" she trailed off, laughing. "Sorry, I tend to babble when I'm excited. I'm not usually like that."

Alec laughed. "No, you're not," he said. "You're usually level-headed and down-to-earth. How many drinks have you had already?"

"Just the one," she said, lifting her half empty class of Champagne.

"Last time there was a Gala like this one," Eris said, "I was downstairs in the Kitchen cooking non-stop for days. And now I'm here."

They chuckled. "And how are you liking it here, Eris?" he asked.

Eris beamed. "It's amazing," she said. "I could die right now, and I would die happy."

"Oh, my God, don't say that," Kira said. "Be careful what you wish for."

"Kira's right," Alec said. "Be careful what you wish for. Although I think tonight is pretty safe. The HSN checked everyone, and the whole Palace is being monitored. Nothing's going to happen tonight," he said.

"I hope not," Petra said, taking his arm. "I don't want to see someone trying to get to you a second time,"

"Thank you, Petra," he said, chuckling. "I don't want that either."

"Can I ask you something?" Petra said, and Alec nodded. "Who's that guy who I already saw in the Palace with you, with the black suit, golden tie and half white mask? The super tall one?"

Alec grinned. "That, Petra, is my best friend. We practically grew up together. His father is a Nano-Weapons Specialist working for the Royal Family," he said. "His name is Christopher Brown. And you know what? Why don't you ladies come with me, I'd like to introduce you to him, actually."

The four of them joined Chris who was talking with Leith and Alistair. "Guys," Alec said, "I'd like you to meet Kira, Eris and Petra," he said. "Ladies, this is His Royal Highness Prince Alistair, and his brother Prince Leith, and this is Chris. Just plain old Chris."

Chris rolled his eyes at Alec and shot him a glance. The three young men all greeted the girls, who were a bit overwhelmed to be around not one, but three Princes! But Petra was looking at Christopher, tilting her head as if listening to something only she could hear.

"Oh, my God," she said. "You're my twin brother."

All eyes turned to her. "How do you know that?" Alec asked, and Chris paled a little.

Petra shrugged. "I just know," she said. "You have the same eyes as me. It's like looking in a mirror."

Chris frowned, but didn't say anything.

"But I thought you had four brothers and sisters," Eris said. "You never mentioned a twin brother."

"I didn't know I had one until just before the Selection," Petra said. "My mom told me about a twin brother who had been adopted by one of the Emperor's advisors, and I was looking out for him – you," she added, looking at Chris, "from the beginning." She paused. "You are my twin brother, right?"

Chris nodded. But he was torn apart. On one hand he was glad to finally have a sister, but on the other side, he was still a bit bitter about being left behind by his biological family. But after some encouragement by Alec, both Chris and Petra walked away together for some time alone to talk. Then, Alec left Eris and Kira to talk with the two English Princes, and he went to find the other girls. He noticed Addison with Avonlea, talking to some people he didn't know. Continuing his tour, he also tried to look out for Austin. What did Calliope mean by _he was stealing his girls?_

And that's when he saw them. Austin and Cheska. He wanted to go say something to them, but on the other hand, he knew Cheska would be wise enough to push Austin away if he was being too demanding. Then Austin leaned in and whispered something in her ear with a timid smile, and she blushed. The sight was weird for Alec. He was used to seeing Austin flirting with women. Not being himself flustered. Was he witnessing a change in his brother? If this young woman could fall in love with Austin and teach him love, then Alec was not going to step in. He would talk to his brother later.

He continued his way and heard a loud laugh. Of course, it was Jessica Harris. Who else would it be? She was talking with a group of Fashion Designers who seemed to be complimenting her outfit and joking about something. Alec would not get into that fashion conversation. Avonlea was the fashionista in the family. Not him.

In another ballroom, he found a larger group of girls – Katia, Catiena, Danielle, Blair and Yana – talking with the Italian Princes, Stefano and Valerio, and their sister, Princess Caterina. All of the Italien Royals wore painted face masks. Alec was glad his girls were making some friends other than just staying together. It was what was asked of an Empress, to be able to socialize in a party like this one.

"Look out!" Veena said, pushing the Emperor to the ground.

* * *

 **Hiiii! so here's finally PART 1 of the Gala... as you may have guessed... hahahah I'm an evil person! I tried to include as much of the girls as I could in this chapter, and if your girl didn't appear here, she'll definitely be in the second part!**

 **On Pinterest, you will find all the outfits of the Illéan royals, the other royals, and of course our girls... just check the first section named "Gala AESTHETICS" and they're there!**

 **Thanks for those who continue posting pins to their girl's section, and for also adding to the different Aesthetic sections (Gala, Selection, and Dating/Love)! they're open to you all, so don't hesitate to also post stuff there! (and it gives me ideas, too^^)**

 **Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, and I can't wait to read your comments! And stay tuned for the second part of the Gala... where all the drama will come... ooops... xD**

 **See ya!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

 _An hour earlier…_

 _~.~_

Calliope needed a glass of Champagne, but not too much, just enough to keep her head clear. She hoped Alec wouldn't see it. If she was going to be _pregnant_ , might as well be pregnant all the way. And everyone knew that alcohol was a bad idea when pregnant. But the only person who knew was him, and he was probably in another ballroom.

Only, he wasn't and he saw her. When she told him she would bring Eryn her glass of Rosé, she just wanted Alec away from her and the two others, or her plan wouldn't work out. But to be honest, she was making the most of someone else's plan, to better her own situation. If everything worked according to plan, she would be at the top of the world…

She joined Eryn and Korina and handed Eryn her glass.

"Where's Alec?" Eryn asked.

"He continued on his way around the Ballroom, I think," Calliope replied. "So, Korina" she said. "You know, you weren't done telling me about your revivalist job, the other day. We got interrupted, I think." She came closer to the girl and put her hand on Korina's arm. Her skin was colder than expected, but Calliope had already noticed it. From the moment she heard that she was an Android, it we her primary goal to get to know the girl. "I think you mentioned something about wolves?"

Korina nodded, and quickly took back her arm. She hated people touching her and noticing it wasn't normal. But Calliope hadn't seemed to notice.

"Yes," Korina said. "A few years ago, we were planning to revive the dire wolves of the Pleistocene."

"And were you able to?"

"Yes. The pups were so cute," she said, not mentioning the Mrep Virus they were carrying. "And now they're all grown up. But they still have some health problems, so we haven't created another generation, yet."

"Um, I'm hungry," Eryn said. "I'm going to go get something to eat. Do you guys want anything?"

Korina shook her head. Eating was useless to her, she would have to evacuate the food from her steel body later. And it was too expensive to waste. But Calliope said she wanted gold dipped strawberries. So Eryn walked away to get some sustenance.

Calliope wrapped her arm around Korina's shoulders. "You know, I'm really glad we're friends," she said in a honeyed voice. But when she passed her arm behind the girl's head, she _accidently_ bumped her head and switch on her VPN – her Virtual Private Network – without Korina realizing right away. "Oh, I'm so sorry," Calliope said, straightening her hair. But thankfully, Korina was wearing her hair down, so it didn't do too much damage.

Before Korina could do anything about her switched-on VPN, Calliope took out a tablet from the many folds of her black gown and gestured a few commands on it. "I'm sorry," she said. "But you're the best I have here," she mumbled. And from that moment on, she had total control of the Android.

She and Korina went in the Grand Ballroom, the biggest of them all, and hid on the side, near the black velvet curtains. Korina followed Calliope like a good puppy, but she didn't have control of her body, anymore, nor her thoughts. She was at Calliope's mercy. She gave the Android a small black adhesive circle the size of a penny and directed her like a remote-controlled toy close to where the Emperor was standing, near his wife, all dressed in white and gold. She was magnificent. But for now, she was not the target. She only had one shot. She made Korina walk close, ignoring the security details who knew her to be a sweet girl from the Selection, and thus not a threat. Calliope made her trip on her own feet and take a hold on the Emperor's shoulders, who quickly helped the girl up.

"Lady Korina, are you okay?" he asked, holding her hand.

"Yes, I'm so sorry," she said, still controlled by Calliope.

When she fell, she stuck the black adhesive circle on the Emperor's shoulder. He was tall, people wouldn't see it right away.

Korina walked away, and everything was in place.

But Calliope didn't plan on having someone keeping an eye on the Emperor. Someone from the Selection with an excellent eye for small things people didn't see. Someone who was a Nano-Weapon Specialist trained to detect small ordinary objects as weapons. And Veena did not miss the exchange… Something was wrong with Korina, but she couldn't say what. She noticed the small black adhesive circle, but she didn't know what it was.

A few minutes later, Korina was out of the way, and Calliope was still hiding behind the curtains, having a perfect view of where the Emperor was. He was now talking with King James and Queen Sophia, the English Monarchs.

And that's when Veena saw it. A bee. A Nano-Tech Bee. It flew silently over the people, high above their heads, almost touching the high ceiling. But Veena saw it when it made a dive for the King, diving directly on the black circle on his left shoulder. If this was a weapon, if was aiming for a place near the heart.

"Look out!" Venna shouted, pushing the King to the ground, almost making a Monarchy Dominos. She fell on top of him and covered the target with her hand. But the BeeBot still did its job. It could still detect the target, and stung Veena's hand instead of the Emperor's shoulder. Veena cried in pain as the BeeBot fell to the floor, emptied of its poison.

Then it was chaos.

People were screaming, running away; golden glasses fell and shattered in a million pieces, trampled by hurried feet and swooshes of dresses; the HSN was securing the perimeter with the usual Palace Security, helping the Emperor up; Veena was still on the ground, shaking and crying from the pain.

The guards tried to keep the hysteric girls and the guests away. Alec, Austin and Avonlea couldn't get close either. Eryn, who had been looking for Calliope and Korina ever since she went to get some food for them, finally arrived on the scene. She shoved the plate of foot in someone's hands and pushed the guards away. She took out her Nano-Tech hair-comb and took the anti-poison part and pricked Veena in the upper arm.

Guards were trying to get her away from Veena, afraid she might hurt her more.

"No, leave her alone!" Alec said, knowing what her hair-comb was. But then he saw the unanimated Beebot on the ground, and he frowned. Eryn used to work with BeeBots. Hadn't she told him about her Nano-Bees a few days earlier? "Um, Eryn?" he said over the noise and panic of the guests. She looked up and saw Alec pointing at something on the floor. She gasped, but quickly turned her attention to Veena. The young woman was not getting any better. She was getting worse. She was not moving anymore.

"Damn," Eryn mumbled. "What kind of poison is this thing?" she tried the other parts of her comb – the anti-venom, the anti-allergic, the anti-anaphylactic, and even the anti-drug. But she was too late. Whatever the BeeBot had injected was powerful and fast. Something she had only heard of, but never actually seen in real life.

The symptoms were easy to see: it paralyzed the body due to blocking the nerve responses, preventing breathing and stopping the heart. As little as one milligram could kill an adult in a minute. And only one poison did that: Tetrodotoxin.

She looked up at Alec, shaking her head sadly. There was nothing to do. The HSN guided everyone out of the room, leaving only Eryn, Alec, and poor Veena on the floor, immobile. Dead.

Verra was there, too, refusing to go away with the others. "She's my sister!" she yelled. "Let me stay with her!" tears streamed down her cheeks. "Alec, say something!" she said, desperate.

The Prince looked at Verra, and then at the guards. "Let her stay," he ordered, and they obeyed. She kneeled next to her sister, and cried, burying her face in her delicate white shirt. She had just found her sister again, and now she was gone. Gone protecting the Emperor. Gone in her duty to her country. But it still hurt so bad.

Alec crouched next to the crying woman and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry," he said, not knowing what else to say in a situation like this one. She didn't answer and just stared at her sister. "Why?" she said. "Who would do this?"

"We're going to find out, Miss," Silas Brown said when he approached with Bacchian. "But for now, I'm going to ask you to step away. We are going to analyze her and find whatever we can."

Verra didn't want to go, but both Eryn and Alec helped her get up and walk out of the room. They helped her sit on a settee in the hall, while everyone was huddled in the three other ballrooms. No one was leaving the Palace until they had interviewed everyone. Even the other Royal guests. _Especially_ the other Royal guests. After an assassination attempt like this one on the Emperor, everyone was suspicious.

A team of HSN viewed the footage of the HovoCams. After viewing them, they let everyone who was not in the Grand Ballroom during the attack go. There was no use keeping them. Most of the people went back home. The only people who were planned to stay at the Palace were the New Asian and English Royal Families. The others were going in different five-star hotel in Angeles.

The footage clearly showed Korina falling on the King and placing that circle patch on his shoulder. Veena – now dead – and Verra were also suspected, as well as Xandra, since she was in the Grand Ballroom at the time of the attack, and Eryn because of the BeeBot. She was the one working with those. The other girls were all interrogated one by one. No one else was in the room at the moment of the attack, except for Calliope, but she was doing a great show of being shocked and crying her eyes out. Alec didn't buy it, though. He had heard her talk to a person named Dax, and there was no one in Palace with that name or nickname. He had checked.

"Keep Calliope, too," he told Bacchian. "There's something going on with her."

Bacchian raised an eyebrow. "What's going on?"

"Not sure," Alec shrugged. "But just interrogate her." _And then I'll bring her to a medical check-up with Dr. Marshall,_ he thought.

Austin joined Alec. "You okay?"

Alec shrugged. "I have no idea what's going on. One minute she was alive and saving dad, and the next she was dead. That's the second girl, Austin," he said. "What's going on? We were always safe until now."

Austin nodded. "Yeah. Maybe we should go get some sleep."

"Are you kidding?" Alec said. "I'm not going to bed until I know what happened."

"Alec, it might take days until they know what happened." Austin rolled his eyes. "We're just human. It's their job to figure out what happened."

Alec shrugged him off. "I don't care, I'm staying," he said.

-x-

The rest of the night and the following day was spent interrogating every single person who was in the Grand Ballroom. From the staff to the guests, Selected and other Royals. Eryn and Korina were the first suspects.

"I didn't do anything," Eryn said. "The only thing I did was try to save Veena!" She wanted to take out her hair-comb to show it her interrogator, but it had been confiscated for analyses.

"It didn't work," the man said.

"Because I was too late and tetrodotoxin works way too fast. I couldn't save her."

"How do you know what poison it was?" the man asked, suspicious.

Eryn paled. "The symptoms," she said. "Look, I'm a Nano-Medics specialist. I know the difference between poison symptoms. Why do you think I created the hair-comb?"

The man raised a bushy eyebrow. "How did you know to wear it tonight?"

"I wear it all the time," she said. "Ask Alec. I mean Prince Alec. He even noticed I wore it every day."

"And how do you explain one of your BeeBots was in the Palace, attacking the Emperor?"

"I don't, because I have no idea how it got in," she said stubbornly. "I didn't take any Beebot with me," she continued. "I'm not that stupid." She paused, and the man stayed silent, waiting. "But I have something that can help you," she tried.

"What is it?" the man said, sitting at the edge of his chair.

"It happened a few weeks before the Selection was announced," she started. "I left one of my Beebots at work, and it took a video of my boss, Dr. Stein. Talking with a stranger. They were talking about using Nano-bots to poison the royals without being blamed…" she trailed off. "Damnit," she said. "He's such a bastard. He used _my_ bees!" she cried out. Angry tears falling on her cheeks. "I can't believe he did this to me. And I was the one to help him develop those bees." A sob escaped her. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I guess it's kind of my fault. But I really don't know how it got in. It can't be controlled from too far away, so someone inside must have been controlling it," she said, more talking to herself than the man. She felt so betrayed by Dr. Stein, her savior, the doctor who gave her new biotech eyes.

"Why didn't you tell this sooner, Miss Vega?"

She shrugged. "I don't know," she said, her shoulders slumping. "I was hoping to be able to do something with my hair-comb. And I didn't want to scare anyone. I wasn't even sure when or if they would really do it."

The man stared at her for a good, long minute. "I'm sorry, Miss Vega, but we will have to keep you here until we find the one who did this."

"I understand," she said, looking at the floor.

"And if anything else comes to mind, tell us."

She nodded and the man walked away to the next interrogating room. In there was a poor Korina who had no idea what was going on. But she sat still, waiting.

"Miss Kirk," the man started. "You were seen putting this on the Emperor's shoulder when you tripped and fell on him," he said, showing the little black adhesive target in a clear box. "And your fingerprints are all over them," he said.

Korina frowned. "I've never seen this before," she said in a small voice. Are you sure it was me?"

The man rolled his eyes and took out a portable Hologram device. He put it on the table and the footage of her – unmistakable in her black and glittery-gold dress she was still wearing – tripping, falling and placing the target on his shoulder while standing up appeared on the hologram.

Korina winced. "I- I don't remember any of it, sir," she said, trembling slightly. Her Android body felt heavier than usual. She nervously checked the switch in her hair, but it was on the _off_ position. She frowned thinking of something.

"What is it?" the man asked. "Do you have something to say?"

She quickly shook her head. It couldn't be. How would she have known? Nobody knew except Austin. Could it be? Did he tell someone? But why would he tell Calliope?

"Can I talk to someone?" she asked. "I need to clear something up… I don't remember anything."

The man raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "You want an attorney?" He laughed. "That's not going to be possible, Miss."

"No, not an attorney. I just wanted to speak with Prince Austin, actually." She didn't meet the man's eyes.

"Why?" He shrugged. "Whatever. I'll see what I can do." He walked away and closed the door behind him, leaving Korina alone in the windowless room. She kept thinking about Calliope. Practically from the start she had befriended Korina, asking about her job and her life, as if wanting for Korina to spill something. But how could she have known? She tried to remember what happened just before her memory gap: Alec had joined them, taking away Calliope's Champagne. That was weird. And then he offered her and Eryn to get them drinks. He never came back and Calliope brought the drinks. And then Eryn went to get some food, and that's when… _Oh my God,_ she thought. _She switched on my VPN when she bumped my head!_

"Korina, are you okay?" Austin asked when he came in, sitting next to her. "What happened?"

She glared at him. "How could you, Austin? I trusted you with my secret, and you had to go tell around!"

"Woah, woah, woah," he said raising his hands in defense. "I never said anything about what you told me."

"Oh yeah?" she said angrily. "Then how did Calliope know to turn on my VPN and _hack_ me? Tell me how she could have known!"

Austin shook his head in disbelief. "I don't know," he said. "Damnit," he cursed.

"Miss Kirk," the man said coming inside. "What do you mean you've been hacked?"

Korina's shoulders slumped. That bastard was listening! Ugh, she should have known. She looked at her hands fiddling with the black skirt of her dress. She looked up at Austin, tears in her eyes and nodded. So Austin told the man Korina's story, how she was currently living in an Android body, while waiting for a cure for her physical body. She finished the story of how Calliope must have hacked and controlled her.

The man ordered for Calliope to be sent to another interrogation room, while listening to Korina. Even if she had been controlled by Calliope, she was still guilty. Guilty of helping her; guilty of not telling of the risk of being hacked; guilty to be an Android and trying to have the Crown Prince fall in love with her.

And Austin was guilty of keeping her secret.

* * *

 _ **Helloooo! so, here's Part II of the Gala... hope you liked it! ;)**_

 _ **sorry if there are any spelling mistakes or typos, my mind is a bit foggy because I'm sick and all... uuuughhhghhh... anyway... I hope to have one more chapter up before Thursday** (my LAST exam day) **, but if not, it'll be at the end of the week... sorry for the wait**_

 _ **Thanks for all you reviews, I just LOVE knowing what you guys think and what you want to see or know! it really helps me write, because sometimes you think of things I haven't thought of, and it helps me go deeper into the story... Can't wait to see what you have to say on this chapter! xD**_

 _ **see ya soon!**_


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

The interrogations went on for hours. There was a missing piece, and everything and everyone was pointing at Calliope. But either she was innocent and people wanted to frame her, either she was a very good actress. It was like a hot potato was passed around and people didn't want to keep it. Eventually the music would stop and someone would have the hot potato in his hands.

Alec couldn't believe his own brother was one of the suspects. And for what? For keeping Korina's secret, which had Alec's mind blown, by the way. From what he gathered, no one else knew apart from Austin, and Calliope. But how did Calliope know? That was another thing not adding up with that girl. Alec wanted to pull his hair out. Since when Calliope was a puzzle? She was always the sweet sexy girl he had fallen in love with. Or at least the thought he did. But something was not right.

He thought back on his conversation with Leith and Chris during the Gala. It wasn't just a coincidence she was in his Selection. She seemed pretty upset when she received the invitation. Maybe she was planning on becoming his wife and the next Empress? How did she get in? Was she really pregnant? Somewhere deep down, Alec knew she wasn't, even though he kind of wanted it to be true. And who was Dax? So many questions, and so little answers. But he had to check something, first. He hadn't slept for almost 24 hours, but he didn't care. He had to find out who she really was.

He went down to Level 5, to the storage rooms, hoping that no one had thrown the Selection files away. He crossed his fingers as he scanned his retina on the Retbox. He had access to practically every room in the Palace. The door opened without a sound. "Thank goodness," he mumbled when he saw the 35 bowls filled with the Selection files. He looked for the Angeles one, and took the first file on the top. He opened it and read the name: Calliope Violet Norwood. "No way," he breathed out, taking the next one, and the next, and on and on. He didn't have to go to the bottom of the bowl to figure out that each and every file was Calliope's. He rolled his eyes and sat on the floor, his back against the wall. "Shit," he cursed. "She planned this all along."

He stayed silent for a while, thinking about what to do next. If she had found a hacker that could actually do this, he needed to find out who it-

"Dax," he said, straitening up. "Of course." But how to find him was the next question. "Message to Chris and Leith," he said to his Contacts. "Meet me on level 5, storage room 37. ASAP." He blinked once and the message was out. He paced the room up and down, trying to think of something to do, but he was tired, and his body was slowly showing the effects.

Seven minutes later, his two friends were there. "What's up?" Chris asked. "What are you doing in here?"

Alec showed them the Angeles files, all with Calliope's name.

"She did have a good hacker," Leith admitted. "What now?"

"I heard Calliope talk to someone named Dax, and I need to find. If he was able to do something like that, he must be good. And every hacker in town must know him," Alec said, running a nervous hand in his hair. He was never a good logical person, or an investigator. People usually did that for him. But he needed to get to the bottom of this. It was Calliope, and he was the one who knew her best. Until now, actually.

"So…?" Leith said. "What are you saying, Alec?"

"Chris," the Illéan Prince said. "Do you know any hacker that would help us? Anyone?"

Chris frowned and thought for a few seconds. "Maybe," he said. "But wherever we go, we need to take Petra with us."

"I know she's your sister and all, but-"

"No, listen to me," Chris said. "She can help us find that guy."

"How?" Alec and Leith said at the same time.

Chris smirked. "She has a chip in her brain, implanted by the doctors of the hospital she was born in, who helps her read people's thoughts. That's how she knew I was her brother."

"And she told you that last night?" Alec asked.

Chris shrugged. "Yeah, we had a lot of catching up to do. I asked her how she knew it was me, and she told me. So yeah, she can definitely help us. If the guy we're looking for says he's not Dax when he actually is, she'll know."

"Holy shit," Alec said. "Selection or not, I'm going to give Petra a job on my Council once I'm the Emperor."

Chris rolled his eyes. "She's not a secret weapon you can take out when you want."

"No, she's a secret, powerful, card I can take out of my sleeve, Chris." He chuckled. "I'm sure you'll be happy to work alongside your sister." He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "So, do you know anyone?"

Chris nodded and sent him a name and a number through his Contacts. "That's the guy," he said. "He calls himself Sinclair. Dad and I dealt with him a couple times. If he's well paid, he'll tell us all he knows."

"How much does he ask for?"

Chris shrugged. "Depends on the question. But from what we've seen, he always told the truth. Or at least, enough of the truth."

Alec checked the time on the corner of his field of vision. 07:35 pm. "Call him," Alec said to Chris. "And tell him you want to meet him tonight."

"Me? You mean _we_ , right?"

"Yeah, but he doesn't need to know. Leith? You wanna come?"

"Hell yes," he said. "I'm definitely going after your ex." He laughed. "I haven't had such an adventure like this back home. With Alistair training 24/7 to be the next King, and Graham taking his place as the _Royal Womanizer_ ," he said sarcastically, air quoting the words, "I'm left with my studies. Good thing I'm studying to be a Data Hostage Specialist, right?" he said, nudging Alec in the ribs.

Meanwhile, Chris was making the call, and when he came back, he told Alec and Leith that the Sinclair guy would meet them at midnight at the usual spot.

"The usual spot?" Alec said.

"The place where my dad and I met him the two or three previous times. I told him I would be coming with my sister and not my dad, this time, though. At least he won't be surprised when he sees more than one person coming his way."

"Okay, Alec said. We leave thirty minutes before midnight. Until then, let's make it as though nothing is wrong. We'll meet in the Hangar."

The two other boys nodded, and all three of them headed back upstairs.

-x-

Avonlea was drinking a glass of whiskey, alone, on the roof. It was one of her favorite places in the Palace, but she hadn't been able to come up here ever since the Selection started. All the girls were tucked away in their rooms, coming one after the other for interrogation. The guests also came in one by one, or family by family. The HSN wanted to get to the bottom of this story, even if it took weeks. No one got away with trying to kill the Emperor. But for some reason, the few suspects they already had weren't right. Something didn't add up, but she didn't know what it was. Maybe if-

"Hey," a familiar voice cut into her thoughts. "Your mother told me I could find you here," Alistair said. "Are you okay?"

She shrugged. Of all the people who would come looking for her, it had to be Alistair. "I'm fine," she said, sipping the amber liquor, making the ice cubes rattle together.

"Is that whiskey?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Want some?" she said, offering him the bottle and a second glass from behind a plant.

Alistair chuckled. "I didn't know you were one to hide whiskey behind plants," he said in his strong British accent.

"I'm not," she said. "It's Austin's. I found it a few weeks ago. He probably forgot about it, because it was still intact. I figured it was an emergency bottle. And this is clearly an emergency." She sipped a bit more, wincing as the liquid burned her throat. "What are you doing here, Alistair?"

"Just wanted to check if you were okay," he said. "Your father almost got killed, a girl got killed instead, so it's not just an everyday thing. So I'm asking again. Are you going to be okay?"

Avonlea turned around and finally faced him. She hadn't forgotten his blue eyes and blond hair, or the smirk he always seemed to have on his face. Tonight, he wasn't smirking. He was serious. "I don't know," she said, honestly. "I don't feel safe, anymore. First Alec, then dad. When's it gonna be my turn?" she asked sarcastically.

"Don't say that, Aves," he said, but just remembering too late that she didn't want him to call her that way. She didn't say anything, though, so he continued. "Everyone loves you, you're not a threat."

"Oh yeah?" she said. "I'm third in line for the throne, you know? Once Dad, Alec, and Austin are gone, it's my turn. I'm not a threat?"

Alistair chuckled. "Chill out, Avonlea," he said sitting on the side of the flowerbed.

"Chill out?" she repeated, and laughed humorlessly, sitting next to him, but not too close either. "Al, what are you really doing up here? You wanna fuck? That's it?"

"What? No! I'm not a fuckboy."

"That's exactly what a fuckboy would say, you know," she said, toasting him with her glass and taking a sip. "How long has it been since you touched a woman?" she asked sarcastically. "I bet you're frustrated, right now." She chuckled dryly, shaking her head.

Alistair sighed. "I'm not that person anymore, you know? I've been working my ass off to get ready to be King."

Avonlea looked him up and down. "You? Since when are you more interested in being King than in having sex?"

He looked down in his glass but couldn't find his reflection. "Since dad became sick."

"Oh," she said. "Sorry to hear that. How long has it been?"

"Two years. But you only care about your little Fashion Empire." There was sarcasm dripping all over him. "England is much too small to have your interest."

Avonlea raised an eyebrow. "Does England know the King is sick?"

"No," he said. "Only the people close to us. And your parents, of course." When Avonlea didn't say anything, he continued. "Oh, come on," he said. "My mum is your mum's best friend. They were in the same Selection, fighting for the same Prince."

"Good thing the Crown Prince of England came along and snatched Sophia away, then." She snorted, and it sounded a bit like a pig – thanks to being a bit drunk…

Both chuckled. "Are we good?" he asked. "I mean, you haven't told me to go get lost, yet…" he trailed off.

Avonlea shrugged. "Maybe realizing that you were going to be King rather sooner than later turned you into a real man," she said. "But that doesn't mean I forgive you," she poked him in the chest. "Besides, I'm sure there are thousands of girls out there who would like to be Queen of England. Maybe you could snatch one of Alec's girls, huh?" she said playfully, poking him again, and almost falling from her seat.

"Okay," he said taking her glass away. "How many glasses have you had?"

"Uuuhm," she looked into the almost finished glass to see if the answer would be in there. "Three?" she replied, looking at the blue-eyed Prince.

He rolled his eyes. "Three glasses of Whiskey in way too much for a Princess like you. Come on," he said, helping her back to the Vaccum, almost needing to carry her there.

"Fifteen," she said, because he wasn't cleared for that level. He guided her to her room. April Ebony, her Lady's maid, was waiting faithfully there.

"She's drunk," he said to her. "Could you help her get ready for bed? I'll come check on her in a bit."

"Yes, Your Highness," she said, curtsying to the English Prince and went right to work.

-x-

Forty-five minutes before midnight, Alec, Chris, Leith, and Petra met in the Hangar. "We're not coming," Alec said to Chris. "You're going alone with Petra. If someone notices either Leith or I are gone, there's going to be a total lockdown on the whole country."

"So what do you suggest?" Chris asked, not happy about Alec's decision. Petra fidgeted next to him.

"I bet they're monitoring the girls right now, making sure they don't go anywhere. So Petra, you're gonna wear this." He handed her his secret untraceable suit.

"What is it?" She took the Nano-Tech fabric suit and ran it through her fingers. It was like touching empty space, but with the feeling of an oily snake skin.

"It'll cut your ID chip, your Contacts, or any Tech you have on and in you from everyone," Alec said. "Radars won't be able to find you. You'll be going dark as long as you wear it."

She nodded in appreciation and he showed her where she could go change – in his back room – while they waited in the hangar.

"Chris, you'll activate the Video and Sound feed on your Contacts, and it'll be linked to my HoloScreen here," he pointed to the back room where Petra was changing. "We'll stay in touch. I'll feed you the questions and you'll ask them for me. Sinclair won't know there are actually four people instead of two who are meeting him."

Just then, Petra came out in the suit that clung to her body perfectly. All boys turned their attention to her and nodded in appreciation.

"Nice curves," Leith said flirtatiously, and Petra blushed, but quickly rolled her eyes, making it seem like the comment hadn't reached her.

"What did I miss?" she asked, putting on a large coat over her suit. "I borrowed this, by the way," she told Alec. "I don't feel really comfortable in this cat-woman suit."

Alec laughed. "Sure. Chris'll tell you on the way. You two better go, or you'll be late."

Chris and Petra headed outside while Alec and Leith got comfortable in his back room. They turned on the HoloScreen and waited for Chris to turn on his Video Feed on his Contacts and connect to Alec. A few minutes later, they were linked, and the mission started. The two _detectives_ followed the darkest streets of Angeles. The other streets, the ones with the stores and restaurants and other entertainment were lit 24/7, never stopping to sleep. There were always two shifts: a day shift, and a night shift. People lived around the clock. But the dark streets were the streets where the criminals – hackers, time hackers, prostitutes, drug addicts, and other outlaws – found their own way. Chris and Petra came upon a group of kids handled by three men. They froze and hid behind a wall, but Chris continued to watch. Just out of nowhere, a large blue vertical ring appeared and the men pushed the children in the ring like through a window. They didn't appear on the other side. They simply disappeared. The blue ring disappeared with the last man who walked through it.

"What the hell was that?" Leith asked, eyes wide, from the back room in the hangar.

Alec was speechless as well. "Holy shit," he managed to said. "Time Hackers. We've been having kids missing all over the country, and we just witnessed how they get away."

"No way," Leith said. "Time Hackers kidnapping kids? What for? And where to?"

"I don't know. But that's a problem for another time," Alec said. "Right now, we need to find Sinclair and Dax, and see who Calliope really is…" he trailed off. "And if I show this footage to my dad, he'll ask what on earth we were doing. We better get good info from Sinclair if we want to show this…"

They sat back in their chairs and continued watching as Chris and Petra continued on their way. A couple minutes before midnight, they stopped and waited. At midnight sharp, a guy with green and blue hair and piercings in his nose, lips and ears came forth from the shadows.

"Chris," he said shaking the Two's hand. "Who's this?"

"I told you I was taking my sister with me," Chris replied.

Sinclair watched Petra closely, looking for something, as if he had already seen her. But of course, he already had if he watched the Report. But thankfully, he didn't link her to the Selection.

"Okay, follow me," he said. "It's not safe to talk, here."

Chris and Petra followed Sinclair towards the back door of a tall building a few meters away. Once inside, Sinclair threw a Sound-Stopping magnetic field around them. "Okay, it's safe to talk, now. We can hear the outside, but the outside can't hear us. What do you want?"

Petra and Chris exchanged a glance, and Chris showed him a picture of Calliope on a tablet. "Do you know this girl?"

Sinclair didn't have to look twice. "Yeah. That's Calliope Norwood."

Chris raised an eyebrow. "Is she well known here?"

"Yeah. She deals with a lot of people down here," he replied.

"Has she paid you to do anything for her? Hacking, maybe?" Chris asked.

"Nope," Sinclair said, shaking his head. "She knows other hackers… I just know her face because everyone knows her, around here."

Alec and Leith exchanged a glance. "Ask him if he knows a hacker named Dax," he said through his contacts, and Chris received the text message on his field of vision. He asked the question to their guy.

"The Dax Smith? Yeah, everyone knows him, too," he said. "He's one of the best."

"Ask him where you can find him," Alec said, and Chris repeated the question.

Sinclair shrugged. "That's more than we bargained for," he said.

"How much do you want? 300 dollars?"

Sinclair nodded, and Chris did the transfer through his Contacts. Once Sinclair got the notification on his Portable tablet that the money had been transferred, he sent the address to Chris on his Contacts.

Back in the Hangar, Alec and Leith were doing a search on this Dax Smith, crossing the informations with the address Sinclair had given them. He seemed to be good at hiding and erasing his tracks on the Dark CyperTrade. And the two Princes weren't the best hackers in the world. But they did find a very old InstaPicture – a 3 seconds moving picture – of a young boy with brown disheveled hair and a younger brunette girl with cognac colored eyes at his side. It looked a lot like Calliope, but fifteen years younger.

"Are you sure that's Dax?" Leith asked. "It could be anyone."

"We'll be sure when Chris and Petra find him," Alec said. "But if it's him, and he turns out to be her brother, one of them is using a fake name."

"Bloody hell," Leith cursed, leaning back on his chair.

A few minutes later, Petra and Chris were on their way to Dax's address. Meanwhile, Leith had the idea of crossing every information about Calliope Norwood on the Feeds, from schools she went to, to face recognition in every single picture of her, to her personal posts on the Feeds, or public ones. So far, nothing weird came up. But one thing was sure: the girl on the first Picture with the older boy with the disheveled hair was her, all right.

Alec and Leith almost fell asleep, until a knock on a door startled them. Alec went to see the door, but there was no one.

Leith face-palmed and laughed. "Dude, it's Chris knocking on a blue door in the Video Feed," said. "Come quick!"

Alec chuckled and sat back on his chair.

"Who is it?" a deep voice called out from behind the door.

"He thinks it's the Police or something," Petra whispered, hearing his thoughts. "Tell him we were sent by someone."

Chris nodded. "We're looking for someone called Dax?" Chris said. "They said he would be able to do what we need to be done."

There was silence. "Do you pay cash?" the voice replied.

"Who pays cash, these days?" Leith whispered.

"No," Chris said. "But the transfer is quickly done if you can do what we need."

Another silence. "Fine," the voice said, and the door creaked open. Petra tried to keep her face in the shadows. This guy might recognize her. They entered the small apartment. "What do you need to be done that is so urgent in the middle of the night?" the young man said. He looked straight at Petra, and his Brain Quant Derrick did a face recognition of Petra and recognized her right away. But he didn't say anything, yet.

"We need to get into the Palace Secured Network," Chris said, remembering what Alec had heard in the Palace, about Calliope talking to someone. "Something that will go unnoticed. Can you do that?"

Dax raised an eyebrow. "Why would you need that, since you _both_ come from the Palace? What are you really here for?" he said, pinning them.

The two siblings shared a glance. "Do you have a sister?" Petra asked. Alec and Leith had shared their findings with them earlier…

"She died six years ago," he said. "Why?"

"I just know someone who looks a lot like you. Same eyes. So I was just wondering," she said shrugging, knowing exactly what would make him tick. His brain was filled with things like _shit, they're suspecting Kassandra_. Only there wasn't just one _voice_ in his head. There were two, and they were communicating fast. She frowned, unable to follow every train of thought.

"Her name was Kassandra?" Petra asked. "You must miss her a lot," she said. "I'm sorry for your loss…"

Back at the Palace, Alec and Leith did a full search like earlier, but this time, they used the name _Kassandra Smith_. Nothing came up. Not one mention of the name. Except one little detail that he must have forgotten to change when he changed Calliope's ID chip: She was registered in a Foster Care Family Center when their parents died. She was five years old, and the picture was taken with her foster care family. It was the only proof of her being Kassandra Smith.

And if Dax said she died six years ago, that's when she changed her identity. Alec just sat speechless on his chair. "What the hell," he mumbled, running his hands in his hair. "This changes everything."

* * *

 _ **Heeyyyy! sorry this was suuuuper long! I just couldn't stop writing, and I needed to take my mind off things related to my exams hahahaha... ugh tomorrow morning!**_

 _ **I hope you liked this chapter! sorry there was only Petra and Calliope among the girls mentioned in this chapter, but we got to see of bit more of Alistair and Avonlea, and Alec and his friends dig up dirt on Calliope. BTW, I'm so glad you all hate/love her... it's my first time I write a character like her, and i really enjoy doing it!**_

 _ **dont worry, next chapter there will be more girls, and unfortunately there will be some eliminations** (in the next, or the other next...) **so, if Alec gives the choice to the girls to leave the Selection, who would go of their free will? if no one volunteers, he'll just have to chose... haha**_

 _ **thanks for reading, reviewing and supporting! see you soon!**_


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

It was past two in the morning, but Alec and Leith were waiting in the Hangar, talking about Alec's bikes and trying them around the first floor when Chris and Petra came back, both tired and drained.

"Dax wasn't happy about our visit," Chris said sitting on a chair.

"But then Chris reminded him that he was a Two and Dax an Eight and that he could be put in trial for what he did and was still doing," Petra said, taking off her too-warm coat, and thus revealing her curves in her _cat-woman_ suit. Leith smirked when he saw her. "Eyes up here," she said to Leith, hearing his thoughts, and he blush furiously. It was her turn to smirk.

"Then what?" Alec asked.

Chris shrugged. "I gave him money so he would shut up."

"But," Petra added, "He's going to try contacting Calliope."

"He told you that?" Leith said, raising an eyebrow, and trying to keep his eyes on her face. And that was harder than he thought.

Petra tapped the side of her head with her finger. "Oh, and I just realized something," she said. "There were two voices in his mind… Not just his."

"Schizophrenia?" Alec asked.

Chris chuckled. "Illegal Brain Quant, I would say," he replied, then turned to Alec. "Dude, we have a lot of things against this guy. We could organize a raid at his place, arrest him, interrogate him. If he's working with Calliope, we have them both."

"That's a plan I can support. But first we have to talk to my dad and yours about this," Alec said. He yawned. "But first I need to sleep. I haven't slept for two days."

Petra yawned, too, and all yawned and laughed. "Right," Chris said. Let's go to bed. We'll deal with this in the morning…"

They all walked back to the Vacuum, but Alec stopped. "Go ahead, there's just something a need to do first." The three others nodded and went up with the Elevator. Chris went back to his own house, a few blocks away, and Leith walked Petra back to her room.

Alec went to the interrogations rooms. He asked the Head HSN to lock Calliope in a non-Network room. Nothing would come in and out, her Contacts wouldn't work, neither her ID chip. Once they had closed off her cell, Alec went in. Calliope was lying down on her cot, an arm over her eyes, trying to sleep, but failing. The damn lights wouldn't turn off. She looked at her visitor under her arm.

"Hey," she said, sitting up. "Can you believe they actually locked me up?" She forced a chuckle. "I mean, why? I didn't do anything, right? You know me, Alec."

"I thought I did, Kassandra," he said, his hands in his back, staying near the door. She tensed at the sound of her given name.

"What?" she asked. "What are you talking about? I'm Calliope. Your girlfriend."

"Ex-girlfriend," he corrected her. "And I don't know what you did during the Gala, but I know you've been planning this for a long time."

"No, I-"

"We talked to your brother, Dax," he said, and her eyes went wide.

"I'm an only child. I don't have a brother."

Alec rolled his eyes. "Stop playing that game Cal- Kassandra," he corrected himself. "But there are two things I'm sure of: one, you're out of my Selection. I don't care if you end up in jail, or in the hands of an Amnesia Surgeon, or executed for treason, or all three above." He paused. "You've been deceiving me from the start, and I won't let you do that again. To me, or anyone else."

"And the second thing?" she asked when he didn't continue.

"You're not pregnant. You never were, right?"

She looked at her hands and fiddled with the golden ring she wore during the Gala. She was still wearing her black tulle gown. She shook her head. "No," she said softly. "I wasn't."

Alec turned around and put a hand on the doorknob. "Goodbye, Calliope," he said, not even looking at her. He walked away, leaving her alone in her cell.

-x-

The following day, Alec slept in late. He emerged from his room around noon, still bone-tired. But the Palace was silent. At least the first few levels of bed rooms. The Girls were still confined to their rooms until the interrogations were over. Walking down the stairs, Alec bumped into Austin.

"Austin? What are you doing here? I thought you were sleeping?"

Austin shot him a glare. "Dude, I was _suspected_ , remember? Damn, I can't believe they would suspect me of trying to kill dad."

Alec stifled a chuckle. "You would have a motive, you know?"

"What? Absolutely not!" he said, crossing his arms. "I have no interest in being Emperor. Besides, if I wanted to be Emperor, I'd kill the next in line: you."

Alec nodded. "You've got a point. So what happened?"

Austin sat on the first steps of the stairs and ran his hands over his face and in his hair. "Apparently, you've dug some dirt on Calliope, and now they're training all their resources on her, and finding what happened. Korina doesn't remember anything. All she keeps saying is that she was hacked. Which I believe. They're trying to convince her to plug her into the system to see if they can find anything to help them find what happens, but she won't let them."

"Why not?" Alec asked. "If it can prove her innocent, why doesn't she do it?"

Austin shrugged. "She won't talk to anyone."

"I'll go talk to her," Alec said, standing up. "Oh, and Austin?"

"Yeah?"

"How long has it been with you and Cheska?"

Austin winced and made a grimace. "Alec, I'm so sorry, it just happened and-"

"That's not the question. I have nothing against you and her. I can't marry all of them. So if more than one can find a happy ending during this Selection, then I'm more than happy."

Austin raised his eyebrows. "You're serious?" Alec nodded. "Uhm, a little more than a week."

"Good," Alec said. "Keep it up." He slapped his little brother on the shoulder. "God knows you need a strong woman to straighten you up." He winked and walked away, down to the interrogation rooms.

There were five cells with Selected girls. The first one was Calliope. Or Kassandra. Whoever she was, Alec was not going in there again. He already said goodbye. The next one was Verra. He cleared it with the head HSN and knocked on the door. She didn't answer, but he still went in. She was lying down on her cot her back to the door. But she wasn't sleeping.

"Verra?" Alec asked. "Are you okay?" he sat on the bed next to her. "No, clearly you're not. Sorry for asking this." He paused, but she still didn't say anything. "I'm really sorry," he said. "Veena was a sweet woman."

Verra turned around and faced him. "She was," she said, her eyes red from crying. "But at least she didn't die in vain." She tried a smile for his sake, and he took her hand in his.

"Thanks." There was a moment of silence between them. After a few minutes, Alec spoke. "Hey, uhm, when all this is over, do you want to stay or leave? I'll give everyone the same choice. But I know that without your sister, it's…" he trailed off.

"Thanks," she said. "But I'd like to go home."

"I understand."

She stood up and wrapped him in her arms. "Thanks for everything," she whispered. "I had a really great time. Until now," she trailed off.

Alec hugged her back. "I wish you all the best, and I hope you will find the love of your life," he said.

"You too."

He let her go and then walked away with one last look over his shoulder. His next visit was too Xandra. Turned out she was there only because she was in the grand Ballroom at the time of the event, but she clearly had nothing to do with any of it. But if everything went well, she would be able to go to her own bedroom soon.

The fourth held Korina. She was sitting cross-legged on her cot, her back against the wall, and her head bowed down, looking at her hands.

"Hi," he said awkwardly when he walked in. "Can I talk to you?"

She looked up and shrugged. "Whatever," she mumbled. Alec took that for a yes and sat next to her on the cot.

"How are you feeling? I know this sucks, but we'll get you out of here."

"What does it matter how I feel?" she said bitterly. "I'm not even human. Everyone knows it, now."

Alec took her hand in his. It was cold and heavy. "Your body does not define if you're human or not, Korina," he said. "It's what's in here," he pointed to her own heart, "and here," he showed her head. "And I'm pretty sure you have everything that makes you human."

She looked up and finally met his intense blue eyes. She took a deep breath. "What if it's not enough? What if I'll never be human again? What if a cure is never found and I'm stuck in this machine for the rest of my life?"

"That's a probability," he conceded. "But we both have to hope that you will one day find your body again. But in the meantime, you should make the most of this one."

She rolled her eyes and took her hand away from his. "Like plugging into the system?"

"Yeah," he said with a small, encouraging smile. "If your eyes work like our Contacts, then they've been recording everything. It'll prove that you're innocent, and it'll maybe help us corner the murderer."

She was silent for a moment. "Okay," she finally said. "But you have to promise me one thing."

"What is it?"

"If it turns out it really was Calliope, don't execute her. What she did was wrong. But life is too precious."

Alec raised an eyebrow. "I can't promise you that," he said, "because it's not my decision to make. But I can promise you to do everything I can against it."

She nodded. "Deal. I'll let them plug me in."

He offered her his best smile. "Can I hug you? I know you don't really like physical contact due to the machine and all, but…"

He didn't finish his sentence because she was hugging him first. It wasn't long, but it was enough. "Oh, and I'm going to give the choice to everyone to stay or leave after this ordeal is over," he said. "But I'd really want you to stay, though."

She nodded after a few seconds of thinking. "Okay. I'll stay. But you do know you can't marry an Android, right?"

Alec chuckled. "We'll see about that," he said, planting a light kiss on her cheek. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, okay?" She nodded and then he left and told the HSN officer that she agreed to plug in. While they were working on Korina, he went to visit the last Selected girl in a cell: Eryn.

"Hey," he said, walking in. Eryn looked up and tried a smile. "Are you okay?"

She shrugged. "It was one of my bees, so of course, they're suspecting me." She rolled her eyes, trying to stop the tears from overflowing. She didn't meet his gaze.

"Hey, look at me," he said softly, sitting next to her, but she didn't. She quickly and angrily wiped away her tears. When she didn't look at him, he gently took her chin in his fingers. "Hey, it's not your fault."

She let him turn her face towards him, but she still didn't meet his gaze. She knew if she did she would get lost in his blue eyes and wouldn't be able to come back.

"Eryn," he said again. "Please, look at me."

Finally, she looked up and the tears flowed freely. "I'm so sorry," she said sobbing. "I shouldn't have made those bees, I-"

"Those bees are amazing," he said. "You didn't create them for spying or killing." He took her face in his hands and wiped her tears with his thumbs. "You created them so the plants and the Planet wouldn't die. Your creation is pure genius."

She continued sobbing, but slowly calmed down. "Thanks," she said lamely, her face still in his hands. "What are we going to do?"

He sighed and let go of her face, but took one of her hands in his, intertwining his fingers with hers. "We're going to get you out of here. And then when all this is over, I'm going to give the same choice to everyone: stay or leave. I know things have become hectic here, and maybe some of you don't feel safe, anymore. I know I don't. But I can't really leave here." He chuckled. "So think about it, okay? But I'd like-"

"I'm staying, of course," she said, cutting him. "If they let me out of this cell, innocent."

"They will. They have to," he smiled and locked her blue eyes with his. Then, out of nowhere, he leaned in and kissed her. Her lips were soft and round and salty, due to the tears, and she kissed him back. He reached for her neck and her hair with his free hand. They kissed for a few beautiful seconds, forgetting they were in a stupid cell. He was the first one to break the kiss, and they both smiled, a bit flustered.

-x-

Two days later, Kassandra Smith was found guilty and faced with two choices: execution, or a visit to the Amnesia Surgeon and then to jail for life for treason, as well as Dax. She didn't want to live with her mind gone. She and her brother both chose execution. To fulfill his promise to Korina, he tried to convince his ex-girlfriend to choose the other option, but she refused. She and Dax, along with Eryn's boss and the stranger man he talked to were all executed for treason and other crimes. The list was too long to mention, but the main was treason, of course.

Alec gave a choice to the Selected girls: stay or leave. Five girls left, one of them was Verra. She had already told him she would want to go home, now that her sister was gone.

Alec had to continue his Selection with 17 ladies…

* * *

 _ **Hi Lovelies!**_

 _ **Sorry it took me so long to write and post this chapter! After my written exams**_ (which were awful, btw) _ **, it took me two days to sit down and get back to the story... anyway. I hope you liked this chapter! ;) lots of ships starting to sail^^**_

 _ **Thanks to kazumiokazaki for Veena and Verra! ;) Verra is going home of her own accord ;)**_

 _ **Thanks also to HeadlessGummyBear and Sylea who continue to post on Pinterest! ;) I enjoy so much finding your pins on the boards! if you're interested in continuing to pin stuff, just go ahead!**_ (just keep it to your own characters, and the aesthetic boards ;) thanks!)

 _ **See ya soon! (can't wait to read your reviews ;)**_


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

"Alistair needs a wife," King James said to the other Royals present at the unofficial Summit. Since they were already all in Angeles for the Gala, they decided to get together and talk about their countries and issues at hand. King James told them about his illness.

"I'm sure we can find an excellent Nano-Tech Doctor in Illéa," Theodore had said, but the English King told him it was a very rare illness that not even technology could fix. He had a few more months ahead of him.

"Why would Alistair need a wife?" King Vìtor from Brazil said. "He can become King without a wife, right?"

"No," Queen Sophia said. "In England, a Crown Prince can only become King if he has a wife. It's tradition, and it's been this way for decades, even centuries."

"Have him hold a Selection," King Louis of France said sarcastically. "Very safe for everyone."

Beatrix sent him a glare before turning her attention to the English monarchs. "So, what do you propose? Can he take a commoner or does she have to be of royal blood?"

James looked at his wife. "I took a commoner from Illéa. But not everyone was happy about it." He chuckled. "It would be best if Alistair married a Princess or at least nobility."

"Addison, one of the girls in Alec's Selection, is related to nobility," King Louis said.

All heads snapped toward him.

"What are you talking about?" Beatrix said.

"Oh? You didn't know?" he chuckled. "She's related to the French Duchess, Marie-Ange's cousin."

Beatrix quickly recovered from the shock. "I'm sure you would love to have an Illéan girl related to the French monarchy on the English throne, Louis. But unfortunately, it's not for you to choose."

"Calm down," James said. "Alistair will choose a Princess among our friends and allies who is not going to be Queen or Empress in her own country. That leaves Princess Elise of France – but she's only 15 years old – Princess Caterina from Italy, Princess LÌvia from Brazil, and Avonlea, from Illéa."

"Not Lìvia," King Vìtor said. "She's too young, and I don't want her on the other side of the world."

Beatrix cleared her throat. "Let me remind you all that our daughters are not animals to be auctioned off. It's Alistair's choice. We're not in the 21st century."

-x-

Meanwhile, Avonlea was giving her morning lesson to the girls, the first real one since the Gala and the dramatic event, with the seventeen remaining girls. They were going into diplomacy and other more political subjects, now that they were getting closer to the end of the Selection, so to speak.

Alec, Austin, Chris, and the other English Princes were playing a VR RPG. They managed to slip away to the third level without the others knowing. They didn't want to mix with the other Royal offspring. And besides, it wasn't a seventeen-player game, or they would always run into each other in the physical world.

Lunch was served in the grand Ball room to accommodate all the royals. Some would be leaving in the afternoon to their own kingdoms and empires, but the English would be staying for a few more days. James and Sophia wanted to spend time with Theodore and Beatrix before they wouldn't be able to do it anymore.

There were three long parallel tables in the room. The Selected girls were all seated at the first table, the royal offspring at the second, and the monarchs – the Parents – at the third. It was noisy and loud, but soon, half of the people would be gone. Everyone was present on the 9thfloor terrace to say goodbye and watch all the high-tech transports fly away.

When everyone was gone, the remaining people walked back in groups of two or three or more back inside. Alec joined Blair standing on the side. "Would you like to get out for a bit?" he asked her, and she nodded with a smile. Both stayed outside, while Alec ordered a transport.

Leith and Petra walked back inside together. Dorian, the 13-year-old English Prince, was the darling of the Selected girls and a large group of the ladies walked back inside with the young boy. Graham and Alistair stayed behind with Avonlea and a few other girls – Jessica, Yana, and Thalia. Alistair had his eye on the Princess, but she completely ignored him, talking with Yana. Graham didn't know where to look. All those girls looked pretty and his fingers itched to touch them. But he knew he couldn't. At least not yet.

When the Two-Seater Hovo transport came a few minutes later, Alec and Blair went in, joined by Jasper Baldwin, Alec's security detail.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Just an afternoon in town. And maybe more tonight, if you want?"

"More?" she said, half shocked, half chuckling. "Alec, I-"

"No, no, no! I didn't mean that," he said, chuckling nervously. "I just thought that if we're enjoying ourselves, we can skip dinner at the Palace and find something to do tonight. The city is full of things to do and see, so…" he trailed off, and Blair laughed.

"Sorry," she said, stifling another laugh. "I didn't want to embarrass you or anything… it's just after what happened with Xandra and all, I just-"

Alec winced. "I was drunk. We both were. There's nothing going on between us. For now, at least."

Blair smirked and watched out the window. Jasper tried not to laugh, listening in to the whole conversation, and Alec shot him a glare, which sent Jasper in a laughing fit. "I'm sorry, Your Highness," he said, focusing on staying calm. "It's just so fun to see you interact with so many girlfriends." He chuckled some more and then cleared his throat to stop laughing. But there was always a smile coming back on his face, which he quickly wiped away.

"You're not used to interacting with girlfriends?" Blair asked, taking over, enjoying seeing Alec and Jasper trying not to laugh.

"Let's just say my last girlfriend was very deceiving," he said. "But I don't want to talk about it. How about you? You had a boyfriend before?"

Just then, the transport stopped and all three of them walked out onto the main street. It was lined with restaurants, gaming centers, VR places where people could go and do whatever they wanted, old-fashioned little theatres, and stores for the lower Castes who didn't order everything from their Contacts and touchscreens back home.

Being from Kent, Blair was speechless by so many entertainments and lights. Everywhere she looked, there was something new. In Kent, there was the old City of Chicago. It was the last one to have a 'Dome, and most of the buildings were from the 2000's and still standing. Next to New York in Waverly, Chicago was the oldest City in Illéa. So seeing Angeles from the inside was a complete shock to Blair.

Alec didn't know how it felt, since he had always been in Angeles. "So? You had a boyfriend, before?"

"Sorry," she said, returning her attention to the Prince. "This place is so amazing." She chuckled. "Uhm, but, yeah. I had a boyfriend. Once. Awful, but my dad was able to help me get away from him."

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said. "My girlfriend was kind of abusive, too…" he trailed off. No one knew it was Calliope. She hadn't said anything, and neither had he. "Hey, there's a really good Gelateria a few blocks away," he said. "The ice creams are like heaven."

"Oh, yeah! Definitely," she said, her eyes lightening up.

"But it's not any kind of ice cream," he said mysteriously. "They're made with liquid nitrogen, frozen to absolute zero. It's amazing, you'll see."

"Can't wait," she said with a smirk as they walked down the street.

"Hey! It's the Prince!"

"It's Alec!"

A group of girls ran towards them, but Jasper quickly stood in between the groupies and Alec. "Sorry, Ladies, the Prince is busy," he said.

"Nah, Jasper, it's okay," Alec said. He looped his arm around Blair's shoulders, as the groupies tout pictures with their Contacts or Tablets. Alec refused to sign autographs other than pen on paper. Signing on a screen was too dangerous for his safety: his fingerprints could be stolen and used against him.

Once the groupies were happy with their pictures with and of Alec and Blair, they posted them on the Feeds, letting everyone know that the Prince was in town, which of course, brought more people.

"Okay, maybe that wasn't the best idea," he said, walking faster to the Gelateria. "Come on." He took Blair's hand and led her to the small restaurant. He ordered a Lime ice cream and Blair chose a chocolate chip cookie dough one. it's was smoking with freezing nitrogen meeting the room temperature air. It was a whole spectacle to see the young man put the ice cream scoops in the cones. They sat at the far end of the restaurant, away from everyone. They chatted on, talking about her life back in Chicago. Alec peppered her with questions, since he had only been there once or twice on Royal Business with his father and didn't have time to play tourist.

When she was done with her ice cream, she excused herself to go to the bathroom. When she came out to wash her hands, someone very familiar was waiting for her, blocking all access to the door.

"Well, hello Blair," Dean said, his arms crossed over his chest and a smirk on his face. "It's been a long time."

Blair quickly looked around, but there was no one in the other stalls. "What are you doing here?" she asked. Her ex-boyfriend, Dean, was the last person she expected to see here.

He shrugged. "I was in Angeles for a trip, and then I saw the pictures on the Feeds an hour ago. I found you, and followed you, and now I'm here." He came closer to her, and she backed away against the washstand. "There's nowhere for you to go, Blair," he said. "And your daddy isn't here to protect you, this time." He made another step towards her. "You're mine, and always will be."

"Never," she hissed. "You were the worst mistake I ever made."

Dean's face changed from creepy to downright scary. "I'm never a mistake," he said, coming even closer and pinning her against the washstand which was digging into her back.

"Leave me alone!" she said pushing him away, but of course he didn't budge. He was much taller than she was, and she was so tiny next to him. He grabbed her wrists in his strong hands.

"Like I said, you're not going anywhere…"

Just then, the door burst open, and Jasper and Alec rushed in. Jasper jumped on Dean and tackled him to the ground, while Alec quickly helped Blair get out of the bathroom.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

"I'm fine," she said angrily, hiding her trembling hands.

"When you didn't come back, I thought I'd just check on you, and Jasper wouldn't let me go alone," he rolled his eyes. "But I'm glad we came."

"Me too. But I'm fine, now."

Alec sighed. "You wanna go home?"

Blair nodded. "Yeah." And so they did. Jasper called the Local HSN and they took care of Dean. Jasper also called the Hovo transport to the Gelateria so they didn't have to walk down the busiest street in Angeles and got back to the Palace. Blair excused herself and quickly went back to her room. Her encounter with Dean had shaken her up quite a bit, but she didn't want to fall apart in front of Alec.

-x-

Even though he had just found his twin sister, Chris had to let her go. It was harder than he expected to see her with Leith. Alec, he could handle. But Leith? It was harder than expected. But he knew Leith was a good guy, and that Petra was able to handle herself. But still. And what was hard, too, was seeing Graham with the girls. He had come to like them all, and had taken upon himself to take care of them when Alec was not there, or on a date with another one of the Selected…

"So, you're a lip designer," Graham asked Jessica. "What exactly do you do?"

She rolled her eyes. "I design lips," she replied sarcastically. "You should have yours plumped a bit, by the way," she said.

"Oh really?" the Prince replied with a smirk. "My lips are very capable of doing things on their own without being altered, trust me." He scooted closer to her on the bench outside on the terrace. "You want to try?"

Jessica burst out laughing. "Don't you even think trying that on me," she said, continuing to laugh, and pushing him away. "And by the way, Your Highness, you're like a child to me. How old are you again? Nineteen?"

"Twenty," he replied a bit flustered.

"See? I'm four years older than you, I'm the oldest girl in this Selection, and you are no match for me," she said, standing and walking away swaying her hips like she always did.

Chris, who was standing a bit on the side and watching the exchange laughed and came over. "You clearly chose the wrong girl to flirt with, Graham." He chuckled some more. "Jessica is the kindest person on this planet, but you managed to press her bitch buttons. I have no idea how you did that."

"Do I really look like nineteen years old?" Graham asked, concerned, and Chris laughed even harder.

"Yeah, kind of," he said.

"Not in England, I don't," he retorted.

"You know," Katia said, joining them after hearing their conversation from the side. "Maybe in England, girls and woman see you as a price to achieve. But here, in the Selection, we have Alec. And the chance to be Empress by his side."

Graham rolled his eyes. "Which is much better than just being Princess by mine," he said, following her thoughts. "But there are seventeen of you, and only one of him. Don't you want to try your chance somewhere else, too?"

Chris rolled his eyes, and Katia laughed. "Why not?" she said, chuckling. "But you keep your hands away from me. For now."

"What's the fun in that?" he said, and they continued chatting. Chris walked away, leaving them be for the moment.

 _What about me?_ he thought. _Everyone seems to start finding someone. Maybe I'm not meant for this… or my true love is still out there,_ he mused, looking around.

"A penny for your thoughts?" a voice said, pulling him back to the real world. He turned around and saw one of the redhead girls. He grinned.

"Naah," he said. "They're not very interesting." He paused. "Would you like to go get a drink or something?"

Callisto nodded, and they headed to a terrace, where Chris ordered some drinks. They talked the whole afternoon and were surprised to see it was already time for dinner.

* * *

 _ **Hiiiii!**_

 _ **thanks for taking the time reading this chapter! not the best, but at least we get to some of the girls interact with other guys, too^^ Thanks for your reviews on the previous chapter! And if you have suggestions for you characters or the story in general, I'm happy to read them^^**_

 _ **thanks for your collaboration! :) See you soon!**_


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

Two days later, King Kames and Queen Sophia went back home with their youngest son, Dorian, leaving Alistair, Leith, and Graham in Illéa for a few more days. Alec had lost Petra to Leith, and he had mixed feelings about it. Leith had asked him if it was okay for him to get to know Petra a bit better. And his own father had chosen a girl among Theodore's Selection. So Alec said yes. But he still had mixed feelings: on one hand he was happy for her and Leith, and they did make a cute couple. But on the other hand, he still wanted her as his secret card to pull out. But like Chris had said, she was not a secret weapon to wield in the face of his enemies…

Alec knocked on Avonlea's door.

"Come in!" she called out. Alec walked in on his sister having her nails done by her High-Tech dressing table. "Oh, hey," she said looking up. "Everything okay?"

He shrugged and sat on her bed. "Yeah."

She chuckled. "Liar."

Alec smiled. "Damn, you know me too well," he said sarcastically. "I need your advice," he continued. "I have no idea what else to do with the girls. I feel like I've gone through every possible date idea. I mean…" he trailed off, searching for the right words. "There's so much we can do here, and going outside needs tons of preparations, if I'm to do it within the rules… I can't just rush out every time. If something happens, it's on me." He rolled his eyes and let himself fall on the bed.

"Well, for starters," Avonlea said, "have you tried knowing them as a group?"

"No. Why would I do that?" he said. "Marriage is a one-on-one thing."

"Yeah," she said. "But I've been seeing them as a group practically every single day, and I know them differently." She smirked. "A group usually lets the real personality out," she said. "On a one-on-one date, they would be their best selves, but in a group, their true selves come out, trust me."

Alec didn't respond right away, thinking about it.

"Look," the Princess said. "Give it a try. If you don't like it, you can go back to dating one-on-one. And I'll help you with date ideas."

"Deal," he said. "What's with you and Alistair?" he asked smugly.

"Nothing," she said. "He's been following me all week like a puppy. But I'm not interested."

"Yeah right," he said. "I've notice how you look at him when he's not watching."

Avonlea was silent for a moment. "Well I did love him," she said. "Seven years ago."

"And you still do," he said, not asking a question, but stating a fact.

"What are you going to about Austin and Cheska?" she asked instead, avoiding Alec's question which wasn't a question at all. "And Petra and Leith?"

Alec smiled. "I'm happy for Austin and Cheska," he said. "He needs a woman to take care of him and put him in the right path. And she seems to be doing a good job. He hasn't done anything stupid in a while." He paused. "As for Petra and Leith… I told him he could get to know Petra better. But you know, there's only one of me, and a bunch of them. And I think it'd be pretty cool to give more than one a happy ending, don't you think?"

"To compensate for the ones who died, you mean."

"You're way too cynic, Aves. But yeah, kinda." He shrugged. "I guess you're right." He sat back up. "So what do you suggest for a group date with all of them?"

She smirked. "A truth or dare game with some booze can be pretty funny. Some pretty nasty stuff can come out during the game."

Alec chuckled. "Good. Can you organize it? Like tonight or something?"

"Sure," she shrugged, her hands still in the little openings in the dressing table.

"Thanks," he said, placing a kiss on the top of her head and walking out of the room. While walking down the hall to the Vacuum, he used his location system on his Contacts to look for Cheska. "Huh," he said. "You've come to the fifteenth floor…" he shook his head in amusement and knocked on his brother's door.

"Just a minute!" he called out, and Alec rolled his eyes. What were he and Cheska doing? He didn't want to know.

A minute later, Austin opened the door. "Alec? What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to talk with Cheska, actually," he said, all business-like. "But it concerns you, too, so you can stay."

"Oh? Because you would have kicked me out of my own room?" Austin said.

"Maybe," Alec smirked. "So," he said. "I just need to know if what's going on between you two is serious or not."

Cheska and Austin shared a glance.

"We wouldn't do anything without your consent," Austin said sarcastically.

"You already have, dumbass," Alec replied. "And I guess you can't go against love, right?" He let out a small chuckle. "You're lucky if you've found each other and it's serious, really. I just need to know," he said looking at his brother and the brunette in turn. "Because if it is serious, I'm going to cross out Cheska from my Selection."

"Does that mean she would have to leave?" Austin asked, worried.

"No. But I'd have to explain on the next Report why she's staying if she's been eliminated. And why Cheska would be seated next to you, and not among the other ladies."

Cheska blushed a bit.

"That's why I need to know if you're serious or not."

Austin sat next to Cheska on the couch and wrapped his arm around her, and she leaned in. "We were hoping to talk to you about this at some point," his little brother said. "So yeah, I think we're pretty serious?"

"You _think_?" Cheska said, teasing him. "You mean you _know_ , right?"

Austin grinned and kissed her right then and there.

"Okay, okay," Alec said, making them stop kissing. "You guys are a thing. That's plain as day. So, Cheska, you're eliminated from my Selection, but very welcome into our family." He smiled. He was genuinely happy that Austin had finally found a young woman he could love and who could love him back. Austin stood from the couch and hugged his brother.

"Thanks bro," he said, and Cheska joined them, too.

After that, he walked out, leaving them to their own devices, whatever it was. "Sixteen girls left," he humbled to himself as he went to the stairs and to Calliope's room. It was empty of her stuff, but he still wanted to check her TableScreen. There must be something in there. But if she was a good hacker, she must have erased everything, or at least put a very strong firewall and passwords on her stuff. He sat at the table and put his hand on the touch screen to bring it to life. Of course, there was a 12-digit passcode to get in. He thought a moment. He tried some random stuff, first: ALECCALLIOPE. There was an error message. CALLIOPEALEC. Another error message, and only one more try. "Damn it," he mumbled. Then he smirked. She was always so adamant about their anniversary. They had started dating on June 3rd. ALECCAL63 was too short, so he added some underscores. He tried typing in _ALEC_CAL_63, and he was in. "You're not that smart after all," he said.

He went through her files and found a lot of entries, and he listened to the first. It was his parents talking about Korina being an Android several weeks back. "They knew?" he said "How would they know that?" He froze. "Oh, my God," he breathed out. "That's how Cal knew." He listened to other entries, and it was private conversations between her parents, or between one of them and close advisors. "Shit," he said. "To Jasper," he commanded his Contacts. "Join me in Calliope's room." He blinked once and the message was sent. He continued going through the files, and there were messages exchanged with Tibalt McGrowen, one of their Computer Engineers.

Jasper walked in. "Everything okay?" he asked the Prince, and Alec played an audio file for him as an answer. Jasper frowned. "When was that?"

"It starts a few weeks back," he said. "Up until the Gala. And there are messages between her and Tibalt."

"McGowen?"

"Yep."

"Shit," Jasper said, too. He called Bacchian and Bacchian decided to send a team to debug Theodore and Beatrix's offices. They checked other rooms and found bugs in their room on the fifteenth floor. Tibalt was also apprehended and executed for treason, just like Dax and Calliope, he had chosen death over losing his memories and personality. But that took place a week later.

-x-

After dinner, Avonlea invited everyone to the Women's Room. She had created a circle of chairs, couches, armchairs, and tables full of Champagne, Pinot Noir, and other alcohols, with crystal glasses.

"Ah, Whiskey," Alistair said, grinning.

"Beer," Graham replied. "Now that's life," he said, grabbing a bottle. Everyone sat around the circle and once all were seated, comfortable with a glass in hand, Avonlea asked for their attention and explained what they would be doing.

"Okay, so tonight is a Truth or Dare game, but the questions and dares will be randomly picked by my tablet. We're going to start with easy questions and dares, and as the evening will go on, it'll get more personal, harder, and of course, more fun."

They all chuckled and clinked glasses together.

"Then let's get to it," Alistair said, toasting his whiskey glass to the Princess.

She rolled her eyes and put a small hologram ball in the middle of the circle where a green arrow appeared, hovering in the air. "All right," Avonlea said. "Spin," she ordered the arrow and it spun on itself until it slowed and stopped on Kira. Everyone laughed.

"Kira," Avonlea said. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth," Kira said.

Avonlea randomized the first question on her tablet and read it out loud. "What was the name of your last boyfriend?"

Kira blushed a little. "Johann Solgard," she said. "But we broke up a month before the Selection was announced."

"Good to know," Jessica said, teasing, "although the second part was not the question."

"I wanted to make that clear," Kira replied, brushing away the matter.

Alec nodded appreciatively. "Thanks, Kira. Next!" he said. It was Kira's turn to order the arrow to spin, and she did. It landed on Danielle.

"Truth or dare?" Avonlea asked.

"Dare," Danielle said, squaring her shoulders, ready to get her dare.

"Depict a human life through interpretive dance," Avonlea read on her tablet and burst out laughing.

Danielle closed her eyes and chuckled. "Okay, but no filming or anything."

"Oh, yes," Avonlea said. "Rule number one tonight that I forgot to say is what happens here stays here. No filming, taking pictures or anything."

Everyone nodded. Although Alec was sure at least one of them wouldn't follow the rule and they would find pictures on the Feeds rather sooner than later.

And so, Danielle mimed a human life, from birth and childhood to teenager, adult, senior and death, all while dancing. Everyone was laughing so hard, they missed some of the dance. Jessica fell down the couch laughing, and Thalia and Cheska couldn't stop laughing. Danielle ordered the arrow to spin, and it stopped in front of Graham.

"Dare," he said.

"Let the group give you a new hairstyle," Avonlea read. Three girls – Katia, Xandra and Eris – were chosen to give the English Prince a new hairstyle. They went to their room to get some accessories and started their masterpiece. Graham's long blond hair ended up in an array of tiny pigtails all around his head, and he had to keep that until the end of the Game. He spun the arrow and it landed on Avonlea.

"Truth," she said, giving the Tablet to Alec. "Read it for me," she said, and Alec read the question out loud: "What are you most self-conscious about?"

Avonlea thought for a moment. "Nothing, I'm prefect," she said smugly. "Just kidding." She chuckled nervously and sighed. "My boobs," she finally said. "They're too small, and not the same size."

Alistair raised an eyebrow. "But they're pretty," he said, and she slapped him behind the head.

"Shut up, Al," she said, but didn't really mean it. She spun the arrow and it landed on Thalia.

"Truth," she said.

Avonlea randomized the next question. "Have you ever cheated or been cheated on?"

Thalia's shoulders slumped a tiny bit, but she quickly recomposed herself. "Yes. My fiancé cheated on me with his boss," she said. "I was crushed. He was my first everything, and I really thought he was the one. Only he wasn't, obviously."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Alec said. "Whoever that guy is, he doesn't deserve you. I can assure you that." He offered her a genuine smile and returned the smile. She spun the arrow and this time it landed on Addison.

"Uhm… Dare," she finally said.

"Serenade the person to your right," Avonlea said. And it turned out Alec was to her right. Addison blushed furiously and she clasped her hands to keep them from shaking. She couldn't meet his gaze, but she started the only love song she knew by heart, skipping the first verse.

 _My head's under water, but I'm breathing fine_

 _You're crazy and I'm out of my mind._

Her voice was soft at first, but then it grew stronger as the others listened. Alec's stomach fluttered at the song.

 _'Cause all of me_

 _Loves all of you_

 _Love your curves and all your edges_

 _All your perfect imperfections_

 _Give your all to me_

 _I'll give my all to you_

 _You're my end and my beginning_

 _Even when I lose, I'm winning…_

She trailed off in the silence of the room, not wanting to continue further. Alec took her hand in his and gave it a small squeeze. And then all the others cheered and clapped.

"Oh, my God, Addison," Petra said. "I didn't know you could sing like that!"

"Neither did I," she replied shyly and everyone laughed. Avonlea asked her to spin the arrow and she obeyed. It landed on Catiena.

"Truth," she said, not wanting to do something like Addison anytime soon.

"What was the worst encounter you had with an HSN officer?"

All eyes went to Catiena.

"I used to live in the slums of Lakedon," she started. "I was coming back home from my day's work at a 3D-Printing factory, when a group of HSN came upon a group of hackers in the street. I was wearing high heels, the only pair I had, and they questioned me, too, when I didn't have anything to do with the group they had arrested. I ran – in my heels – and they tried to come after me. They never caught me, though." This was a half-truth, really. Everything she said was true, but there were some pieces of the story she didn't tell, and she made sure to keep them for herself. The HSN did have something on her, but she got away…

"Well, I hope they won't bother you further," Austin said, "now that you're a Two."

"I was born a Two, Austin," Catiena said. "I became a Six when I fled my abusive Step-mother who killed my father and tried to kill me, too. I know very well who and what I am, thank you." She straightened the ruffles on her black skirt and ordered the arrow to spin to continue the game. It landed on Quinn.

"Dare," she said. She didn't want to talk about something risky about her. So, might as well be ridiculous.

"Very well," Avonlea said. "Switch clothes with someone of the opposite sex in the group for three rounds." She chuckled. "Who do we pick? Alec, Austin, Chris, Alistair, Leith, or Graham?"

"Spin the arrow!" Jessica said loudly.

So, the boys stood in a small circle around the arrow in the middle of the larger circle and the arrow stopped in front of Alistair. Avonlea burst out laughing. Quinn and Alistair went out of the room to change and exchange their clothes. Of course, Alistair was way too big for Quinn's dress and shoes, and Alistair's clothes floated on Quinn.

"I have to take a picture of this, this is too funny to pass." She made them stand in the middle of the room side by side. "I won't put it on the Feeds, I promise. It's just for us."

Quinn and Alistair rolled their eyes but then played along and made funny faces. Quinn then spun the arrow and it landed on Alec.

"Truth," he said.

"Who is the sexiest person, here?" Avonlea read and laughed. Everyone looked at him, eager for his answer.

"Me, of course," he said, avoiding the question altogether.

* * *

 _ **Heyyy! thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter ;)**_

 **Thanks to PheonixBird8 for the truth or dare idea with everyone ;) turned out funny! If you have other things you want to see, or other date ideas for your girl, send them in! ;) Thanks for reading, reviewing, and for your patience! this is the slowest i have ever written... this who have followed me for some time know i can actually post a chapter a day... hahaha... but i just started Outlander** _(TV show)_ **, so oops** _(who else watches? or watched? please dont spoil me^^)_

 _ **see ya soooooon!**_


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

After a couple days of group dating, Alec was bored out of his mind. He wanted to go outside. He wanted to take the girls – in a group or alone – to see other things than the white walls of the Palace. He needed something to spice up his Selection. One morning, while the girls were with Avonlea for their morning lesson, he discreetly went to the Hangar and took his secret suit, a bike, and rode away. He needed clean air and wide spaces to think clearly. He drove for an hour and a half north, to the Angeles cliffs where he had taken Verra on their first date. He took the long way there, and just sat there on the edge, his feet dangling on the empty space, the waves crashing against the rocks below him. He looked at the horizon for a moment and saw a cruise ship in the distance.

Alec grinned. He had an idea to spice up his Selection. He logged into his Contacts and searched for one of his friends. He made a call, and Grayson replied on the third ring.

"Hey Grayson," Alec said.

"Alec? Wow, it's been a long time."

"Yeah, I know," he said. "I'm sorry."

"Nah, don't worry. I know you're busy with your Princely duties and your Selection." There was a bit of bitterness in his voice, and Alec took it personally. They used to be quite close before Grayson's father took a job as a diplomat for Illéa in France, three years ago.

"Um, hey, I had a question," Alec said. "You still have your house in Angeles on the seaside?"

"Yeah?" Grayson said. "Why? The Palace isn't enough?" then he laughed, trying to ease the tension a bit.

"No, it's not. There's so much you can do inside a Palace, Gray." Alec paused. "And you still have your Yacht? Or is it with you in France?"

Grayson was silent for a moment. "No, it's there, in Angeles," he finally said. "You want to use it? One-on-one? or you want to move the Selection to the boat?"

Alec chuckled. "Man, you know me too well. I'd like to move the Selection to the boat."

"Okay. Let me check with my dad, but it should work out. I'll be in touch with you."

"Thanks, man." He paused. "Oh, and Grayson?"

"Yeah?"

"Wanna join us?"

Alec could practically hear Grayson's grin on the other side of the world. "Hell yeah," he said, then cut the conversation. Alec had spent many summer vacations on that boat with Grayson. When he wasn't in Hawaii. Maybe he would go there with the Elite, when only seven girls remained. He kept that in mind on his Note To Self app on his Contacts. He rode to the hanging restaurant, ordered a fresh beer, drank it, and then rode back to the Palace. He was in a good mood when he came back, just in time to change for lunch.

-x-

After lunch, he invited Quinn for the afternoon. He told her to meet him on level two with specific instructions on how to dress and what to take. While waiting for her, he prepared the swimming area. Instead of putting the night sky on the ceiling screen, he put a summer sky with some tiny white clouds and ocean sounds: waves, birds, and light wind. When she arrived at the precise time, she looked all around the room in wonder. She was already wearing her bikini under a sundress.

"Wow," she said. "I'm impressed." She chuckled and put her bag down. "So what's the plan?"

Alec took off his t-shirt, having already put on his swim trunks and grinned. "Whatever you want," he said. "There's a Jacuzzi on this side of the pool, a whirlpool with giant floating donuts, or we can just swim…" he trailed off, giving her ideas.

"The Jacuzzi sounds nice," she said, letting her sundress fall to the ground revealing a lean and athletic body, with strong legs and defined shoulders. Alec didn't want to seem too conspicuous, but he liked what he saw. Quinn walked down the steps inside the swimming pool and swam-walked gracefully to the Jacuzzi part. She was also wearing her hair in a messy bun on the top of her head and Alec's stomach made a tiny summersault.

 _How did I never really saw her?_ he mused. Maybe it was because he had always seen her in the middle of the others, and never alone on a date.

"Hey, I'm just realizing this is our first date together, alone," he said, joining her in the Jacuzzi.

"Yes, it is," she said with a smirk.

Just then, he received a message on his field of vision. _You can have the boat, and I'm coming over tomorrow evening._ It was from Grayson. Alec grinned. "Thanks, man. Can't wait," he mumbled to his Contacts and blinked once to send the message back.

Quinn chuckled. "Who was that?" she asked.

Alec cleared his throat. "Sorry," he said. "I was waiting for a reply from one of my friends." He paused, debating if he should tell her or not. "It's kind of a secret," he said slyly. "It's for the Selection."

Quinn smiled and fiddled with her silver ring. "I can keep a secret," she said.

"I'm sure you can," he said. "But you're going to know anyway tomorrow, once my friend comes over."

"Who's your friend?"

"Grayson O'Hayre. We were in high school together, but now he lives in France with his father and brother. His mother left ten years ago."

"What's he doing in France?"

"Assisting his father who's a diplomat there for my father."

"Oh," she said and laughed bitterly. "You're trying to get more of us to fall in love with others than you? So you don't have to marry?" And before Alec could respond, she continued. "First Cheska and Austin. Then Petra and Leith. I'm sure Prince Graham will find one to his taste too, as well as Chris."

"Quinn, I-"

"And then there's Alistair. But he already has his eye on your sister."

"Quinn, what are you trying to say?"

She shrugged and sunk lower in the bubbles. "You don't seem very interested in finding a wife among the Selected, that's all. Some are dead, some gone with other men."

"Take that back, Quinn," he said trying to stay calm. "Grayson is coming over because I wanted to use his Yacht so we could move the Selection there. I'm tired of this Palace, and I wanted to spice up things," he said, then paused to take a breath. "I'm letting some of the girls end up with other men – some of them my closest friends and brother – because I want only the ones who are really interested in me to stay at the end." There, he said it, it was out.

"Oh," she simply said. "I'm sorry, I thought-"

"Well you thought wrong."

They were both silent for a moment, the sound of the waves and the bubbles enveloping them. From under the water, Alec gently grabbed her hand. "The fact that you're still here and never trying to get attention from the other guys means a lot to me, you know?" he said softly.

Quinn looked up from under her long eyelashes, the bubbles reflecting in her bright blue eyes. She smiled. "I signed up for this Selection because of you," she said. "Not to find some other guy."

Alec smiled back and scooted over, closer to her. "That's good to know," he said leaning closer and closer to her face, until his lips touched hers. She was surprised at first, but then kissed him back. With his free hands, he gently took her by the waist and she sat on his lap. She kissed him more and Alec ran his hands on her back, holding her close. He felt his swim trunks tightening and a bulge growing in them. He hoped she wouldn't notice, but since she was kind of sitting on it, she noticed. She grinned while kissing him and both chuckled.

"Ooops" he said with a sly grin.

"That's good to know, too," she said, smirking, while sitting back next to him on the underwater bench.

"Hey," he said, changing the subject. "I noticed you always wear this silver ring." He took her hand in his and held it out of the water. "An ex-boyfriend?"

She chuckled. "No. My dad gave it to me when I turned sixteen. He was proud of me for following in his footsteps. After my studies, I got a job with him."

"Oh? What does he do?" Alec asked.

"He's an International Affairs Specialist, and so am I."

"Wow, that's cool," he said, thinking of what she could do if she was Empress. "That's quite useful in my world." He grinned and Quinn blushed a little.

They continued to talk of random stuff, kissing from time to time, until they were both boiled in their Jacuzzi, and it was time to get out and get ready for dinner.

-x-

Just before dinner, Alec received a message on his Contacts. _Be there in fifteen minutes. It was from Grayson. He relayed the message to Jasper Baldwin who got everything ready to welcome the man. Alec was waiting alone on the Entrance Terrace when a SoloPlane hovered down slowly until it was a couple feet from the ground. The door popped open with a hiss and Grayson O'Hayre stepped out with his famous lopsided grin with a single dimple and his thick hair carefully pulled back with lots of gel._

Alec grinned at his friend he hadn't seen in three years and they hugged like brothers.

"Good to see you, man," Alec said tapping Grayson's back playfully. He ordered one of the android servants to take his bags to the fourteenth floor to the room ready for him. "Come on, Dinner's about to be served," Alec said. "Are you ready to meet seventeen girls?"

Grayson grinned. "Always."

"Excellent."

They went to the dining room where everyone was already there, waiting. "Ladies," Alec said. "This is my good friend Grayson O'Hayre," he said. "He's going to be staying with us for a few weeks. And he also brings a surprise…" he trailed off, building the suspense. "Tomorrow morning, you will all be preparing your bags, because we are moving the Selection from the Palace to his amazing Yacht."

The girls cheered, but when Avonlea sent them a death glare, they quickly calmed down: This was not how a Lady was supposed to behave. Even though Avonlea would have done the exact same thing. But they were in front of the Emperor and the Empress, and they were watching, too.

Grayson bowed his head to salute the girls, and then he went to the Emperor and Empress's table, didn't forget his manners and etiquette, and bowed to them as well.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Grayson," Beatrix said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," he said, then went to sit down with Austin, Cheska, Alec and the other English Princes. Alistair would be leaving for England the next day, his Royal duties calling him back. But Leith, Graham, and Chris would be going with Alec and the girls on the Yacht.

Dinner was louder than usual, the girls excitedly chatting about their next stage in the Selection. Avonlea didn't tell them to be quieter, because her mother said it was normal and okay. From the next day, the Palace would be quieter, anyway.

As soon as the dessert was over, the girls were excused and they all ran up to their rooms to prepare their bags for the cruise.

-x-

All the boys – except for Austin with Cheska who were spending the last evening in the Palace together on the roof – met in the Men's Room for a glass of Whiskey. Chris and Grayson were also happy to find each other again. The three of them had been in high school together.

"Leith?" Alec said. "Have you decided anything about you and Petra?"

Leith grinned. "I really like her, actually," he said. "Can you give me a few more days, during the cruise?"

"Sure," Alec said. "I'll also have a talk with Petra." He thought about his conversation with Quinn. It was a good thing all these guys were here to help him select the girls who were into him alone… It was kind of a test they didn't know they were passing or not. Except Quinn. She knew, now.

"Graham?" Alec said. "What about you?"

"You know me," Graham said. "I like all of them! But I'm still making up my mind."

Chris rolled his eyes and punched Graham in the arm. "You shouldn't be making up your mind, dude." He sipped his whiskey. "They're not toys. They're women, and they should be treated as such," he said. "And by the way, you shouldn't even have your pick in the lot," Chris said sarcastically. "Alec's the one who has the first choice, remember?"

"It's fine, Chris," Alec said. "It makes the pool smaller and easier for me to choose."

"Whatever you say, Your Highness," Chris said bitterly, sitting back.

"What about you, Chris?" Grayson asked. "Any girl you're interested in?"

"Chris already found out he has a twin sister," Leith said, "and it's Petra."

Grayson raised his eyebrows up to his hairline. "A twin sister? But I thought you were an adopted only child."

"Nope," he said drinking his whiskey. "Turns out I also have 4 other biological brothers and sisters, plus Petra. That makes 5 brothers and sisters. How weird, right?"

Grayson chuckled. "But look where you ended, bro."

Chris shrugged. "I'm going to bed," he said standing up and leaving the others boys. "And I'm not even sure I'm coming on the cruise with you," he said.

"Oh, come on!" Alec said. "You have to come!"

"We'll see," Chris said.

* * *

 _ **Hey! sorry for the long wait...**_

 _ **but the good news is I PASSED MY EXAMS! hahahahaha I am now officially a "Polydesigner 3D"** (in french)_ _**, which is more or less a "Visual Merchandiser" in English ;)**_

 _ **anyway, I hope you liked this chapter! and that you're excited for the Cruise! If you look on the "High-Tech and Worldbuilding" board on Pinterest, you'll get a glimpse at the boat they're going to be on^^**_

 _ **see you soon! and I'll try to have the next chapter sooner... haha ^^**_


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

The next morning, the whole Palace was a beehive, people going to and fro without stopping. The girls were almost as excited as just before the Gala. Especially for the girls from the lower Castes. They had never been on a vacation like this, on a private Yacht. The Ladies didn't sleep much that previous night, talking in each other's rooms until late into the night, some even early in the morning.

"Ten minutes," Cass Raylee said, and the last girls were running now to get something they forgot in their room.

A large aircraft was waiting for the group of vacationers on the 9thfloor terrace to bring them to the O'Hayre Mansion, in the southern part of the Angeles Province. Alec helped all the girls inside, and he was the last one to go in. He looked behind him to see if Chris would be coming or not, and he grinned when he saw his best friend arrive in a Hawaiian shirt, swim trunks and a backpack.

"Glad you changed your mind," Alec said.

"I'm coming to keep an eye on you," Chris said jokingly. Both young men laughed and they boarded the aircraft. The trip didn't take long, only half an hour, but it was the best way to transport so many people at once. Counting all the girls and boys accompanying them, there was a total of 22 people. And that was without counting the staff coming along with them for cooking and other duties.

-x-

When they arrived at the O'Hayre Mansion, the boat was ready and waiting for them in the private port, thanks to a handful of servants who had come in advance to prepare for their arrival. Grayson was wearing his lopsided grin, happy to be back home with his best friends and a group of beautiful ladies. _Just like old times_ , he mused to himself. He never considered France his home, and he knew he wanted to come back to Illéa and find a Job there, preferably for the next Emperor, in his close circle of advisors. But first he needed to finish his training.

One by one, the girls went into the boat, and the boys followed. They would all bunk in groups of 4 in the rooms, because there were not enough single room for everyone. Only Alec had a room for himself in case he needed some privacy with the girls…

"All right," he said rubbing his hands together. "Who's ready for some adventures!"

The girls cheered, and the engines roared to life, propelling the boat out in the open Ocean, to the West. Everyone rushed to the prow of the ship to get whipped by the warm wind. It was mid-summer by now, and everyone was happy to be out of the suffocating Palace and City, and out in the open. Alec was the happiest of all but stayed back to look at the others enjoying the boat.

"It was a good idea," Avonlea said, standing next to him. "The boat, I mean."

Alec grinned. "I was so fed up with the Palace."

"That, too," she said. "But I was thinking about the girls. Without mom and dad watching them, too, from the corner of their eyes, they might surprise you. They'll be themselves, here."

"I hope so," Alec replied. "And I'm glad some friendships bloomed among the Selected, despite what happened in the beginning of the Selection."

Avonlea nodded. "This is the adventure of a lifetime for most of them. These friendships will last forever. At least I hope so."

They fell silent for a moment. "I noticed you befriended Addison," Alec said.

Avonlea smiled. "Yeah, she's a sweet girl. Don't you dare hurt her, Alec."

"I wouldn't dare," he said with a smirk. "She's your protégée… I would get in trouble if she was hurt."

The Princess punched him playfully in the arm. "I'm serious," she said. "Addie's a sweetheart, and never had a boyfriend before. Be gentle with her."

"I will, I promise," he said. "Don't worry."

He smiled at his little sister and joined the others at the railing. He stood behind Kira. "So," he said. "Looks like we'll get our second date in a good place, don't you think?"

Kira blushed. "You want me to go swim in the open ocean?" her voice trembled a little. "I'm not sure I can do this…"

Alec took her hand in his from behind. "Don't worry. We'll find a good spot where you'll be able to touch the bottom. And you can wear a lifejacket if you want."

Kira didn't answer right away. "We'll see," she finally said. "Let me get used to the boat, first."

Alec nodded, but still held her hand, giving it a light squeeze.

"Who wants a tour of the boat?" Grayson asked, and everyone followed him. Everyone but Alec and Chris who already knew the boat. Austin and Avonlea also knew the boat, but sill joined the others.

"You wanted to get away from your mom?" Chris asked Alec once everyone was gone.

"Kind of. I promised her to have HovoCams around most of the time. They'll still see what's happening here…"

Chris rolled his eyes. "Then what's the use?"

"They're not Live, you idiot. I'll have someone send them just enough feeds to keep them happy. And I won't have the Cams on at all times."

They were quiet, looking on to the horizon in front of them. "You've changed," Chris said. "You're not the same guy as before."

"No, I'm still me."

Chris shook his head. "You're not that anti-social guy anymore."

"And that's bad?" Alec asked.

Chris shrugged. "No. It's just different. This Selection is turning you into the next Emperor everyone is waiting for. You can't have an anti-social monarch, right?"

Alec laughed bitterly. "I'm just trying to survive, Chris. The Palace was suffocating me."

"So you chose a smaller place to hold your Selection. Very logical."

Alec sighed and grabbed the railing in front of him. He frowned. "I was sick and tired of my parents' eyes on my back all the time. At least here I have the illusion of being free. But I'll never be free of anything, and you know it."

Chris knew it all too well. He had grown up with Alec being trained and told what to do, ever since he was a child. You might think a Prince would be free to do as he wanted. In a way, yes. Austin could literally do whatever the hell he wanted and get away with it. Avonlea, too. But Alec? No. He had a path laid down before him, a path on which he had to walk and never stray right or left.

"I'm sorry," Chris said.

"Never mind," Alec replied, and he walked away looking for his room. The only single room on the boat. He fell on his bed face first and closed his eyes, letting the muted engines lull him into a restless sleep. He woke with a start when Austin sat on the bed next to him.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," Alec mumbled, slowly getting up and wiping a small trail of drool on his chin. "What time is it?"

"Lunch," Austin said. "You've been out for a few hours."

Alec sat up and ran his hands in his messy hair, remaking his bun. "Guess I needed that sleep, huh?"

"Yeah, well… the girls are waiting for you, actually."

Alec fell back on his bed, staring at the ceiling. "Do they, now..." He sighed. "How did you do it?"

"What?"

"Fall in love with Cheska?"

Austin chuckled. "I have no idea. It just happened, you know?"

"No, I don't. That's why I'm asking." He paused. "I thought I had found love with Calliope. But no. And now I have 16 girls here, and I have to choose one. I wish the choice was smaller."

Austin stood and offered his brother his hand. "Come on, man. We have to go."

Alec glared at Austin, refused his hand and got up on his own. "I'm on my own, right?"

"Pretty much," Austin said. "Falling in love is not something I, or anyone, can do for you. You have to do it yourself."

-x-

After lunch, some of the girls put their bathing suits on and went on the deck to sunbathe. Alec climbed on the highest roof of the Yacht and sat there, his eyes on the horizon. He knew he had a day or two before the girls would be used to the boat and in search for him. But not fifteen minutes of alone time and he already heard light footsteps coming his way. He was leaning back on his hands, his ankles crossed and wearing only his gray swim trunks, sunglasses on his nose, and his brown hair in a messy bun at the back of his head.

"Hey," Thalia said, sitting next to him. She was wearing a large t-shirt over her bathing suit to protect her from the sun.

"Hey," he replied.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Alec looked at her. "Sure. Why?"

Thalia shrugged. "I don't know, you don't really seem like yourself these days."

He chuckled. "You're not the first person to tell me this, today."

"Oh, I'm sorry… I didn't want to pry or anything, I-"

"It's fine," Alec said. "It's just that I thought the Selection would be easier, you know? Or I don't know. Different, maybe."

Thalia was silent a moment, looking at the horizon too. "It's so peaceful, here," she said. "If you don't listen to the chatter on the deck."

"I much rather like open space, either the ocean or an empty road, than a building."

"If you weren't Prince, or at least not Crown Prince," she asked. "What would you be? Or what would you do?"

He grinned. "That's easy," he said. "I would be holiday tester, taking my bike, going from places to places, trying out hotels, restaurants, or even sleeping under the stars. I'd like to think of myself as an outdoors man."

Thalia smiled. "I didn't know that job even existed."

"It doesn't. I just made that up. But that's still something I'd definitely do."

Thalia laughed, and Alec thought it was the most musical laugh he had heard, and he knew he wanted to hear it again. Thalia looked at the blue sky dotted with small white clouds.

"Oh, look!" she said pointing to a cloud above them. "It looks like an elephant."

Alec tore his eye off of Thalia and looked at the cloud she was pointing to and laughed. "No, that looks like a dog," he countered.

"It does not," she said, slightly offended. "I've done this all my life. I know an elephant cloud when I see one."

Alec laughed. "Okay, this one, then," he said pointing to another one. "This one looks like a cat, right?"

She looked up at the cloud. "Yes, this one looks like a cat."

"Ah! See? I'm not as stupid as you might think. I may not be a geoengineer, but I can recognize a cat cloud."

Both laughed and continued looking at the clouds and guessing their shapes. He was glad to be able to start spending some alone time with the girls on the boat. He didn't want to force anything. He would see how things developed here.

-x-

Like all the meals on the boat, dinner was served on blankets on the deck. Trays of food were arranged on the blankets, and you just took whatever you wanted, and sat wherever you wanted, everyone happy about this way of eating and living, even for a few days or weeks, without any protocol and etiquette. It was freeing. Although Avonlea still wanted to have the girls at least two or three mornings each week to train them. It was the future Empress they were talking about…

Austin and Cheska weren't so anti-social with the others anymore. They were a thing – and official at that – and now joined the others as a couple. So after dinner, Alec took Petra aside for a small talk. They went at the stern of the ship, sat down on the small landing pad and let their feet dangle in the clear water.

"So, you and Leith, huh?" Alec said, not beating about the bush.

Petra chuckled. "I knew you would talk about that," she said. "What about it?"

"I've had a little chat with Leith the other day, and I just wanted to know where you stood. Because I can let you go to be with him, if you'd like that."

Petra didn't reply right away, seeming to listen to his mind, but not in a prying way. "I do like him very much," she started. "But I don't want you to feel let down by it."

He chuckled. "Reading my mind, aren't you?"

"Sorry," she said smiling, "but yeah."

"It'll reduce the choice of girls," he said. "And as long as Leith is here, you can stay. If you want to go back to England with him, you can, too, if your parents are okay with that." Alec chuckled. "You signed up for a Prince… But you're not ending with the one you thought you be ending with."

"Nope, I'm not," she said. "But since you can't read my mind, I just want you to know that you've been a great friend."

"I'm not sure about that," Alec said. "I put you at risk with Chris to find that Dax guy."

Petra smiled and took his hand in hers. "It was fun, seriously. And I'm glad it helped whatever you were looking for. And I know Calliope was your girlfriend, once upon a time."

Alec looked up. "How do you know that?"

Petra tapped the side of his head with her finger. "You were screaming it in your mind, I couldn't ignore it." She paused. "I'm sorry for what happened. And maybe that's why it's hard for you to find someone else. You're afraid of being betrayed again."

"You're reading my mind again. But yeah. Maybe I am."

"Then you know what? Don't kick me out of your Selection just yet. Let me go listen to the girl's minds. If I find one suspicious, I'll tell you, okay?"

Alec nodded. "Deal. But unofficially?"

"Yeah, unofficially, I'm out. Let me work for you as your secret spy. Only you, Leith and Chris know about this," she tapped the side of her head. "No one will suspect me. And I'll go talk with Leith, too."

Alec nodded. "Excellent. What do you want in return?"

Petra thought for a moment. "Give my family a better Caste…"

"Once you marry Leith – _if_ you marry Leith – your family will be promoted to Ones. Or the equivalent in England."

"I know. But in case they don't want to move to England with me."

"Okay," Alec said. "I can't do anything as long as I'm not the Emperor, but it will be one of the first things I'll do."

"Thank you," she said. "Truly."

* * *

 _ **Heyyy! so as promised, the chapter came faster^^**_

 _ **Thanks to all of you who posted bathing suits and cruise pictures on pinterest! it gives me lots of ideas^^ for those who haven't done it, you can go pin bathing suits/summer outfits to your girls if you want! ;)**_

 _ **I'm officially on vacation, now, so I hope to be writing more^^ Thanks for your reviews, insight on the story, your feelings, for reading and supporting me^^**_

 _ **see you soon! :)**_


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

Three days had passed since the group of young people sailed away from Angeles and the stuffy Palace. Three days since Alec was left with fifteen girls in his Selection. Three days since he was free from his mother's watchful eye. But it was Friday, and the Report was mandatory, even for them out on the ocean. After a quick dinner on the stern of the yacht, the girls put on some sun dresses over their bathing suits, and the boys put on a shirt with rolled-up sleeves, with their swim trunks. They were all quite a sight.

Avonlea had half a dozen lounge chairs laid out in parallel lines, and everyone sat as best they could on them, sometimes up to five or six people on one chair. Some of the boys stood behind the chairs, letting the ladies sit. The Princess put a HovoCam three yards away from the group, far enough for everyone to be in the picture. Another HovoScreen was a yard behind, so everyone could see the Report as well.

"Good evening, Illéa!" Clyde Volt said in his usual bubbly voice, practically jumping on the stage. "As you can see, the stage is quite empty, with only Emperor Theodor and Empress Beatrix here with us. You're probably wondering where everyone has gone! Well, let's call them, shall we?" Clyde chuckled and pressed a button on a small remote control in his pocket.

Just then, the HovoCam's light turned red, signaling that they were Live.

"Why, hello!" Clyde said when their hologram appeared on the stage, and the sailors waved hello in response. "My, where are you?" Clyde asked.

Alec chuckled. "On vacation!" he answered. "My good friend Grayson lent me his Yacht and we're having the best of time," he said, and everyone around him cheered. He was sitting in the middle front of the group, with Katia and Kira next to him.

"That's excellent news!" Clyde said. "So, tell me, Prince Alec. How many ladies are left in your Selection?"

"Sixteen," he said, remembering that Petra was not officially out, yet.

"And are you planning to dwindle that number during your vacation, or are you taking a break from the Selection and simply having fun with the ladies?" Clyde asked.

"The Selection's still on," Alec said. "So when we come back to Angeles in a few weeks, that number will be smaller."

"Oooh," Clyde said. "What a stress for the Ladies! One wrong move and you could be out."

"Alec's planning to dump the bodies in the Ocean," Austin said with a smirk.

Clyde and the others had half a second of doubt before Grayson burst out laughing. "You're an idiot, Austin," he said, slapping the Prince playfully behind the head. "Of course not," he said, and Clyde and everyone laughed.

"You've always been the prankster," Clyde said to Austin, and even Cheska pushed him playfully.

"Careful, or I might be the one pushing you into the Ocean," she said loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Francesca," Clyde said. "May I ask you a question?"

"Of course," she replied.

"You signed up for Alec's Selection, but ended up with his brother. Was that planned?"

Cheska and Austin laughed. "Absolutely not," Cheska said. "It just happened. Trust me, I tried not to fall for this pretty face," she gave Austin a light tap on the cheek, "But it turned out it was mission impossible." Austin chuckled and kissed Cheska.

"Oh! I can see that," Clyde said. "What do you think about this, Alec?" he asked.

Alec shrugged. "I'm glad he finally found a woman who can love him for _who_ he is, and not _what_ he is.

"Who says I don't love him for _what_ he is?" Cheska said playfully.

"Hey!" Austin said, grabbing his girlfriend around the waist. "We had a deal."

Everyone in the group chuckled. These two really had something sweet and something of 'partners-in-crime' going on between them. Even a blind person would see that.

"So, Alec," Clyde said, turning his attention to the Crown Prince again. "I wish you a great vacation and hope that you find the woman of your heart."

"Thank you, Clyde," Alec said. The whole group waved goodbye and the Report Host turned their HovoCam off. The Report resumed in Angeles on the HoloScreen, with some news from the Emperor. He was addressing the fears about things that were said on the Feeds during the previous week, about more and more kids who were missing across the country.

"We are doing everything that we can to find out what is happening," Theodore said. "And I assure you that as soon as we find something, I will personally inform you of our findings."

Alec frowned, and while some others dispersed around the boat for the evening, Leith, Petra, and Chris sat next to Alec.

"Did you show the video to your father?" Leith said. "The one where Chris and Petra saw the time travelers kidnap the kids?

Alec shook his head. "No. I never found the right time to do so, and then I totally forgot." He sighed. "You think I should sent it to him now?"

Chris nodded. "Now would probably be the good time. Or at least in the morning."

Alec nodded. "I'll do that first thing in the morning. I'll have a conference call with him. I want all three of you with me."

The three others nodded, and then they dispersed and joined the others. Alec found a group in the Yacht's jacuzzi, all still dress in their sundresses and shirts.

"Okay, what happened here?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow, trying not to laugh.

"Graham put me in the jacuzzi all dressed," Xandra said, "and the others simply joined me." She flashed him a grin.

The Prince chuckled and joined them in the jacuzzi, all dress up, too. He called one of the staff that was with them on the boat and ordered drinks: bears, whiskey, Pinot Noir, and Champagne. Before the drinks arrived, a few others had joined them.

"This is the best vacation of my life," Eris said. "I never could afford anything else than going at my grandmother for the holidays… which was thirty minutes away from my house." She chuckled, thinking back to the good old times when she was a little girl.

"Yeah, me too," Yana said. "I could never go anywhere. The furthest I went was when I travelled in my mind in books."

Xandra rolled her eyes. "Boring. I've travelled the entire world with my mother." She paused, taking a sip of her Champagne. "But I have to admit this Selection is amazing, and it's going to make me so famous once I go back to being an actress."

"You're not planning on winning?" Petra asked, listening to her loud mind.

Xandra shrugged. "No, but I had a deal with Alec," she said.

"What kind of deal?" Jessica asked. "Keep you in his Selection, sleep with him, and then go back to your life and tell everyone about it?"

"That's pretty much it," Xandra said. "Except the 'sleeping with him' part. That was a little bonus," she continued with a smirk, talking as if Alec was not here.

"Careful, Xandra," Alec said. "I might just come back on the deal if you start snubbing everyone."

Xandra raised an eyebrow. "You wouldn't come back on your word, Your Highness," she said, and Alec saw Petra staring at the lady and he smirked.

"No, I wouldn't, unless you gave me a reason to." He smiled at her and toasted his glass of Pinot Noir to her. "So don't give me a reason," he added, and then sipped his wine. If there was a reason, Petra would tell him from what she learned listening to her thoughts. If he could at least have Petra on his side for the Selection, he could agree to do without her when he was Emperor. She would help him with the most importance choice in his life… And why not have that same chip implanted in his brain, or in someone else he trusts? He would have to think about it…

The rest of the evening was spent drinking, getting a bit drunk, laughing, telling funny stories and being boiled in the Jacuzzi. Around two in morning, some of the girls started to yawn and excused themselves to go to bed. One after the other, the partyers retired for the night, and around three, Alec was left alone with Catiena. By that time, both of them had taken off their shirt and sundress and were only in their bathing suits, which was better suited for the Jacuzzi.

"Would you like to go to the prow?"

Catiena laughed. "I can never be sure if the prow is the front or the back of a ship," she said.

"The front," Alec replied, chuckling.

"Sure," Catiena said, stepping out of the tub, and revealing her back.

"Oh, I never saw your rose Inktat," Alec said. "I like it."

"Thanks," she said. "But it's not as cool as your flying eagle." She grinned slyly at him. "Does your mother know?"

"Ha! God, forbid. No, she doesn't. She would kill me. Especially if she knew where I got it."

Catiena laughed. They walked hand in hand to the prow of the boat and sit on the deck, their feet dangling over the water. "Where are we?" she asked.

"I have no idea," Alec said. "Probably somewhere in the northern Pacific." He mumbled _GPS_ to his contacts and a map of where he was appeared on his field of vison. "Yeah, we're midway from Hawaii and Angeles," he said.

"Wow, that's a long way from home," she said, nostalgic. They were silent for a moment, the lapping water filling the silence around them. Alec lay down on the deck, his feet still dangling over the water, and looked at the sky.

"The sky is so different here from Illéa," he said. "There is no light pollution, and everything is so clear and perfect. It's like looking through a magnifying glass."

Catiena lay down next to him and nodded. "Alec, there's something I need to tell you…"

"Sure. What is it?"

She took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm putting my freedom and my life on the line by telling you this," she said. "So hear me out, okay?"

"Okay," he said, turning his face towards her. She avoided looking at him, and spoke to the sky, instead.

"On the Report, your father talked about missing children," she started. "I'm not entirely sure how they get smuggled out of the country, but I may know why." She paused, but Alec didn't say anything, yet. He didn't want to cut her in her momentum. "They're being sent away to enter an international sex trafficking ring."

"Kids?!" Alec said.

Catiena nodded. "I'm afraid so."

"How do you know that?" he asked, frowning.

She sighed, still looking at the sky. "My father encouraged me to study what I loved. Which were mathematics and science, and above all, time science. You know this is a more than acceptable scholarly pursuit when it comes to theory," she said. "I was pretty good. But then you know the rest. My father died, and I fled my step-mother. I lived as a Six, being a 3D printing Engineer. But it wasn't enough to survive. The money was terrible. After I got an eviction notice, I decided to swallow my pride and enter the criminal world as a time hacker, since I already knew the theory and all. After some time, I had made enough money to live, but I was too deep in that shit, I couldn't get out. Then, one day, I walked upon the most horrible scene in my entire life: a little ten-year-old girl being auctioned off as a sex slave, against her will, of course. I can deal with a lot of things, but I couldn't stomach that, and I've been trying to bust the ring ever since." She paused and chuckled humorlessly. "My specialty? Finding loopholes in laws and tiptoeing around authorities. I've done that ever since I fled my life as a Two." Again, she paused, and sighed. A shooting star passed over their heads. "Every once in a while, I give a damn about doing the right thing. I like to wave as those moments pass by."

This time, Alec chuckled.

"But not this time. I was hoping to be able to use this Selection to get more information and be able to bust that sex trafficking ring. But I can't do it alone. I need your help."

Alec was silent for a moment. "I need to show you something," he said. He sat up and mumbled commands at his Contact, sending the video feed to Catiana, the one he was going to show his father in the morning. Catiena sat up, too and accepted the file on her Contacts. They both watched the video.

"I knew it," she said. "They're manipulating the time stream continuum to get them away! Damnit," she said. "I was right all along."

"What can we do now?" Alec said. "I was going to show this video to my father in the morning. In a few hours, actually. Do you think that's a good idea?"

"Where did you get that video?" she asked, ignoring his question.

"That's not important, now," he said. "Should I show it to my dad?"

Catiena sighed. "Do you have Time Hackers in your team of Computer Engineers?"

"I don't think so," Alec said. "But we have you…"

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and then I get executed for being an illegal Time Hacker in your Selection. I remember what happened with Calliope. I'm not an idiot."

"I'm sure my Father would pardon your crimes if you help us bust that ring."

"Can you be sure about that?"

Alec thought for a moment. "Not entirely. But even if he doesn't, I can convince him only to lock you up, and then I can pardon your crimes when I'm Emperor."

Catiena sighed, fiddled with her hands in her lap, and looked up at the sky. "Okay. Show that to your dad and tell him I'll help you if he pardons me." She pauses. "And I also want my step-mother out of the way and punished for the murder of my father, and almost mine, too."

Alec nodded and took her hand. "I'll do everything I can," he said, kissing the back of her hand. "But let's get some sleep before all that, shall we?"

Catiena agreed and both headed back to their own rooms. It was almost five in the morning.

* * *

 _ **Heeyy! Thanks for reading and thanks, too, for your reviews on the previous chapter^^**_

 _ **Thanks also for the pins on the board! They give me plenty of ideas, and I really appreciate it!**_

 _ **I signed up for the July Nanowrimo Camp, and decided on a 30k word count goal this month, that means I have to write roughly 1k words every day... so you might get more chapters^^**_

 _ **anyway, I can't wait to read your reviews and see your pins on the Pinterest board! :) See ya!**_


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

"Alec," Theodore says. "It's good to hear your voice. How's everything going?"

"Fine," Alec said. His father's Hologram was standing in front of him in his room, and his Hologram was standing in his father's office, back in Angeles. He couldn't see the room his Hologram was in. He only saw his father's hologram. "But I didn't ask for this conference HoloCall to tell you how the Selection was going, here," he said, looking at the few people around him. Theodore couldn't see who was there. Chris and Leith on one side, and Petra and Catiena on the other.

"What, then?" The Emperor asked. "What's wrong?"

Alec sighed. "I'm sending you right now a video feed I should have showed you weeks ago," he said. He mumbled something to his Contacts and Theodore accepted the File, just as Catiena had done.

Alec gave a moment to his father to view the video for himself.

"For Christ's sake, what is this, Alec?" Theodore said. "Where did you get this video?"

So Alec told him everything, about how Chris and Petra went out on his orders to catch Dax and how everything was all linked. He also told him about Catiena, what she knew and what would be needed for her cooperation, if they needed to get to the bottom of this awful thing.

Theodore listened without talking, sitting on his favorite armchair. Alec and the others couldn't see the armchair, only that the Emperor was sitting on an invisible object, hovering in mid-air. Alec couldn't stand still while his father took in all that he had said.

"And why haven't you showed me this video sooner?" he asked.

"I was waiting for the best time to do so, but it never came, and then I totally forgot." He looked at Catiena. "Until last night, after the Report and my conversation with Catiena."

"Hmm," Theodore said, running his hand in his salt and pepper hair. "You're putting me in a delicate situation, son." He paused. "Time hacking is illegal. Lady Catiena must be punished for her actions. But then again, if we are to bust that sex trafficking ring and catch the others, we need her." He was silent for a moment. So Alec spoke out.

"But surely you could pardon her. She would help us break that ring. And she's the only Time Hacker we have on our side. You made sure there were none in our Computer Engineer team," Alec said. "Although some of them are Hackers. Illegal as well."

Theodore looked at Alec through his hologram. "Don't tell me what I did, or what I should do, Alec. You'll have plenty of time to decide your own actions when you take my place."

"Of course," Alec said. "But we need to put everything on our side for this to work. We need someone who knows what we're dealing with and how it works. Without Catiena, we won't be able to do much good."

Theodore frowned, thinking. "Would only one Time Hacker be enough on our side? We're in front of an army of Time Hackers."

"Not an army," Catiena whispered. "You can do a lot with not many people. They just have to be placed at the right places, at the right time."

Alec reported those same words to his father. He took that into consideration and asked if Catiena could do this alone or not. She nodded. "I don't really have any Criminal friends," she said sarcastically. "It's always every man for himself…"

Theodore nodded. "Good. Then if you can help us bust this ring, I will maybe pardon your past crimes," the Emperor said. "But only if we can catch them."

She nodded. "I understand."

After a few more minutes of decided when and how to do this, Alec ended the HoloCall.

-x-

The boat wasn't that big, but still, Alec couldn't find Katia. He looked everywhere. But come to think of it, Graham neither was nowhere to be found. Alec rolled his eyes. But their last date had turned out fun, between the stargazing in the Palace pool and being children again, splashing around and playing games. Maybe there wasn't anything else than friendship, there. But he had to make sure. He finally decided to locate her via his Contacts, and the location device told him she was in the boat's kitchen. He went there and opened the door without knocking. A group of four cooks were there, part of the Palace staff hired especially for the Selection who had come with them, and in the corner of the small kitchen, Katia and Graham, eating a boxful of chocolates. They didn't see him.

"I see you two are busy," he said, making Katia jump.

"I- I-"

"Yeah," Graham said. "We're tasting these delicious swiss chocolates," he said. "If you don't mind," he added with a guilty face.

Alec squatted down next to them. "I don't mind. But next time you want to go on a date with one of my Selected, Graham, just tell me, okay?"

Graham raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Did Austin and Leith ask you first?"

"No. But considering your predisposition with women, I don't really want you to screw them all, actually."

Graham scoffed. "Well excuse me for saying this, but I can control myself. I haven't slept with anyone of your girls, Your Royal Highness. I'm merely keeping them occupied while you date others. You're the one having sixteen girlfriends at the same time. Not me. I only do one at a time."

Alec chuckled. "This is a Selection, Graham. That's how it's done. Now, I'll leave you two to your chocolate tasting, just be careful not to have an indigestion… It's awful." He nodded to both of them and walked out of the kitchen. He should have stayed with his thoughts of the first day: leave things be and not push anything. He sighed and went to see the Captain.

He knocked on the door and walked in.

"Hello, Your Highness," Captain McTavish said with a warm smile and his Scottish accent. "What can I do for ye today?"

Alec stood next to him. "How far are we from an island?"

McTavish raised an eyebrow. "Why? Are you seasick?"

"No, not at all. I just wanted to have a place where we could swim without any risk. Or if you know of a place like that?"

Captain McTavish chuckled. "That's an excellent idea, lad. Let me see." He turned on a Holomap that appeared in front of the men. "This is us," he said, pointing to a small boat, "and this is the closest island," he showed a small mount on the map. We're a day and a half away from it. But we can go there if ye like."

"Yes," Alec said. "What's it called?"

"T'has no name, anymore. 'Tis abandoned. Had been for three centuries, ever since the Dark ages."

"Oh. But it's safe, right?"

"Yes. Islands like this one have been wild for 300 hundred years. Who would want to come live here when we have our technology on the continents?"

Alec chuckled. "Maybe some people would like that," he said. "Less technology."

"Less, maybe," McTavish said. "But not zero technology."

"No, maybe you're right. We're too used to living that way."

"Exactly," the Captain said. "So, we head there, and we should be there tomorrow evening."

"Thank you," Alec said. "In the meantime, I'll continue my Selection."

McTavish chuckled. "You do that, lad. You do that." He continued to chuckle and Alec walked back outside in the heating sun.

He went at the prow and leaned on the railing, his eyes on the horizon. Large gray clouds were gathering in the distance.

"Do you think it's going to rain?" Jessica said, standing next to him, also leaning on the railing.

"Maybe. We'd have to ask Thalia to be sure. Or we could just wait and see."

Jessica laughed. "Yeah, let's just wait in see." They were both silent for a moment. "So," she said. "Sixteen of us left. Do you have anyone in mind for the last one, yet?"

"Several," he said. "But it's hard to eliminate people. Either they're dead, or they went with someone else, or they decided to leave on their own. And now that I know you all much better, it's harder and harder to make decisions.

She put a warm hand on his shoulder. "I totally understand that," she said. "And I don't envy you." She paused and laughed. "Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to come swim with me in the ocean, near the boat?" she grinned slyly. "Naked, of course. Like last time."

Alec chuckled. "I'd like that. But let's do that under the cover of night…?"

Jessica laughed again. "You know, everyone has a body. You shouldn't be ashamed of it."

"I'm not."

She chuckled. "But you still need the cover of darkness to be naked."

He raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "I don't want people to be jealous," he said.

"Yeah right," Jessica replied rolling her eyes and trying not to laugh. "But okay, then, tonight, midnight. At the back of the boat."

Alec nodded and she just walked away, swinging her hips, as usual. He stood there, looking at the blue ocean for as far as the eye could see, trying to look for that island Captain McTavish talked about. But since they would be there only the next day in the evening, he couldn't see it yet. He heard two voices talking together, one of was them very familiar: Chris. Alec quickly hid behind the cabin wall and watched as Chris walked and talked with one of the redheads, Callisto. _Finally,_ Alec thought. He wasn't the type to listen behind doors, but he couldn't stop himself.

"You know I can't do that during Alec's Selection," Callisto was saying.

"But others have done it," Chris said. "And Alec encouraged it."

"I know," she replied. "But I live up to my word. I signed up for _his_ Selection, and I'm not doing anything else." She sighed. "I like you very much, Chris. And I promise you that if Alec doesn't choose me, I'll come back for you."

Chris chuckled. "You do know love goes both ways, right? He won't choose you if you don't love him, too."

Callisto blushed and looked away, at the horizon. "That's the thing. I do like him very much, too. But there's only one of us that can win."

Chris scoffed. "So I'm just a second choice, right?"

She quickly reached out to touch his hand, but he jerked his hand away. "No, that's not what I meant," she said. "I just feel trapped in the middle."

"I get it," Chris mumbled. "Sorry I brought that up." He sighed and walked away, leaving Callisto alone at the railing. Alec waited a few minutes to join her, so it couldn't seem like he had been listening to the whole conversation. But thankfully, Callisto stayed there, and he walked up to her as if nothing was wrong.

"Hey," he said. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," she said, smiling up at him. "This place is just so beautiful, and peaceful," she said.

"It is." He sighed. "I used to spend a couple weeks each summer on this boat with Grayson."

"Used to? What happened?"

Alec shrugged. "He moved to France."

"Oh," was all she said. They were silent for a moment. "Hey, uhm, I never really thanked you properly for the Gala. I know it wasn't directly for me, but you took to heart what I told you about Califorium 252. It meant a lot to me."

Alec smiled. "You're welcome. With all that happened after the Gala, I forgot to tell you," he said, "but we actually got 26 million dollars."

Her eyes widened like sauce pans. "You can't be serious."

He nodded slyly. "Yep. Perks of having many wealthy acquaintances." He chuckled. "And the Selection helped a lot," he added. "Lots of people were ready to pay a large sum of money to meet you all. There's a lot of betting going on in Illéa, right now, people trying to guess who the future Empress will be."

Callisto chuckled and pushed her long red hair away from her face. "Do you have any idea who that will be?"

"Probably one of the sixteen remaining ladies," he said with a coy smile.

"Ha, ha, very funny, Alec," she said. They talked a bit more, but he tried not to let on anything with her, yet. He knew Callisto was the only girl Chris was interested in, and he didn't want to take that from him. But he didn't want to do anything about it yet, either, or Chris would know Alec had heard their conversation.

-x-

Later that night, a little before midnight, Alec slipped to the stern of the ship and sat on the little landing pad where the ladder to go into the water was. He was only dressed in his bathing suit, and his feet were dangling in the water. It wasn't as warm as he thought it would be, but it wasn't too cold. The earlier gray clouds had covered the whole sky, masking the stars. The boat was on autopilot and had stopped for the night. People complained of the engine noises during the night.

"There you are," Jessica said, coming behind him. "Are you ready for this?"

"Yeah," he replied. "Let's do this."

She grinned, let her robe down, revealing her naked body and dived head-first in the water. Alec was surprised. But instead of doing it like she did, he walked down the ladder, and only once he was in the water did he take off his bathing suit. Jessica rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Seriously, Alec?"

"What? I'm not used to doing this all the time, like you are."

She chuckled again and swam to join him. "Well if you marry me, you'll have to get used to it."

Alec laughed. "I guess I will have to if it comes to that." He grinned and pulled her closer to him by the waist. She was a bit overweight, but her body was strong and firm. No wonder she loved her body so much. Anyone with a body as hers would love it. He began to like it, too… And so did his own body. Before he could do anything, she kissed him, unexpectedly, and wrapped her arms around his neck, her firm breasts crushed against his chest. Tingles filled his body, and he kissed her back, running his hands on her back and her thighs. _This I could get used to_ , he mused. By now she was straddling him, and he wasn't sure if he should go all the way with her or not. Was this what she wanted all along?

"Jessica, I-" he said, but she kissed him to make him stop talking. "Seriously, just tell me what you want…"

"You," she said. "Unless you don't want to," she said, without any anger or shame.

Alec looked at her right in the eye. "You planned this all along?"

"No, of course not," she said. "I'm not that kind of planner." She chuckled. "I just went with the tide," she said. "Look, if you don't want to do this, I understand."

His body was aroused, and he couldn't deny it. This girl had something. This girl had something he couldn't deny. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it was there.

Heavy drops of warm rain fell on their heads. Both looked up to the sky and smiled.

"No, I want to," he said, pulling her closer. And this time he was not drunk. He was fully aware of what he was doing. And it was even better. No one saw them. Or at least they thought no one saw them…

* * *

 _ **hiiii! thanks for your reviews and for reading this chapter! i hope you liked it!**_

 _ **do you ship Chris with Callisto?**_

 _ **And who do you ship Alec with the most?**_


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

Rain poured all day long, forcing the people to stay indoors. No sunbathing on the deck; no swimming in the ocean nor in the pool outside. All that was left was staying inside, talking, eating, drinking, or playing games.

Alec slept in late. He didn't want to see anyone. He had mixed feelings about his last date with Jessica. On one hand he had enjoyed her company and their sex, but on the other hand, he knew it was not his best choice. He should have said no. Hadn't he decided not to get intimate with any of them ever since Calliope? With Xandra, they were both drunk. It didn't really count.

And bumping into Chris while going back to his room had not helped the matter, either.

"Did you just have sex in the ocean with Jessica?" he had asked, making a face.

"So?" Alec had answered.

"You're even worse than your brother, or Graham." And with that, Chris had left. There was something about Chris that was wrong. Was it because of Callisto? Because Chris was really grumpy and he wasn't like that, usually.

Around nine in the morning, there was a slight knock on his door. He mumbled something and the person pushed the door open. He didn't even turn around.

"What do you want?" he asked, grumpily and half asleep.

There was a light giggle. "I'm just bringing you breakfast," a feminine voice said. He recognized it instantly and turned around with a start.

"Sorry, I thought you were one of the guys," he said, rubbing his face. Alec always slept only with his boxers, so Eryn had a good look at his chest and abs.

"Yeah, well, it's just me, sorry," she replied, putting the tray on his bed. "Are you feeling okay?" she asked. "You're not sick or seasick, are you?"

Alec chuckled. "No, I'm just tired, thinking about my life, and my shitty decisions, that's all."

Eryn smiled. "Don't we all," she replied. "Are you hungry?"

Alec nodded. "Yeah. Thanks by the way." He looked at the food and noticed there was two of everything. "You didn't eat yet?"

Eryn shook her head. "Nope. I wasn't hungry until now, and then when you didn't show up, I thought I'd bring you breakfast, and we could eat it together."

"That's an excellent idea," he said, grabbing a waffle and taking a bite. "You know, this is the first time any of you actually did something for me," he said. "It's always the other way around. It's a nice change."

Eryn grinned proudly. "Nobody did anything for you?"

"Nope." He and Eryn exchanged a glance and continued eating their breakfast, in the middle of blankets, pillows, and laughs. Alec liked how it was so easy to be with Eryn. There were no awkward moments. Just simple talking and laughing.

"Hey," he said, suddenly remembering something. "There are two jet skis in this boat." He grinned. "Wanna go for a ride?"

"In the rain?" she said, half laughing.

Alec shrugged. "So what? We're gonna be wet anyway!"

Eryn burst out laughing. "Then, hell yeah! I'll race you," she said. "but you're gonna lose."

"We'll see about that," he said. "Let me remind you that I'm a biker."

"On land," she said rolling her eyes. "Not on water."

They both laughed and headed to the underdeck hangar where two shiny jet skis were waiting for them. They pulled on some water suits and pushed the jet skis in the water. Eryn was the first one ready, and she waited for Alec.

"It looks like the same as a bike," he said, testing the seat.

Eryn giggled. "Don't say that too soon, Alec."

He smirked and opened the hangar door, revealing the Ocean that lay in front of them. Eryn whooshed away, dropping him behind.

"Hey! Wait for me!" he called out, trying to figure out the jet ski.

Eryn made a U-turn and stopped, laughing. "I told you you talked too soon!"

It took Alec a couple of minutes to figure out the buttons and all, but he managed and followed her out on the water.

"Let's get out far, and then race back to the boat," she said.

Alec nodded. "Okay." He sailed away and Eryn followed close behind, making white foam behind them. They went as far as possible, still making sure to have the boat in sight, and U-turned. "Ready?" Alec asked, and Eryn nodded. "Okay! Get set, ready," he burst out forward, "GO!"

"Hey!" Eryn shouted back. "Cheater!" she called, laughing. But she was quickly next to him, and then in front. Alec didn't want to be kept behind so he pushed his jet ski hard and managed to keep up with her. They were only a few hundred meters away from the Yacht when Eryn pushed her jet ski even faster and drove past the Yacht first. "I won!" she said, making a sideslip on the water to stop.

"Yeah," Alec said, joining her. "I let you win," he said.

She chuckled. "No you didn't. I'm just better than you."

"Uh-huh, sure, tell yourself that. But when we get back to Angeles, I'll race you on a bike, and we'll see who's the best."

Eryn grinned slyly. "It'll be me, of course," she said. "Come on, let's do a rematch!"

Alec nodded, and by then, practically the whole group of sailors had grouped on the deck under the rain to watch them. Eryn and Alec drove away, like before, and raced back to the boat, the cheers of the others motivating them even more. Five times, Eryn and Alec raced, and four times, Eryn won. The one time Alec won, Eryn let him. Of course.

After that, the rain had stopped and some other girls tried out the jet ski, under Eryn's careful eye. Alec stood on the top deck, watching everyone from above, and thinking about his next elimination. He knew he wouldn't do it until they arrived back in Angeles, but he still needed to start thinking about it.

"Hey," Korina said, coming next to him. "A penny for your thoughts?"

He chuckled. "A penny?"

"My grandmother used to say that whenever I was lost in thought."

Alec smiled. "Just thinking about the Selection, that's all. Nothing new," he replied.

Korina grabbed the railing. "No, nothing new," she repeated. "We all have that on our minds, I think. The girls don't have any another conversation."

"Really?" He chuckled. "I guess this is a big turning point for everyone."

"Yep."

They were silent for a moment, watching Danielle and Katia racing on the Jet skis. They were all taking turns, and next was Austin against Grayson. Grayson won, of course, since he was more used to driving the jet skis.

"Can I ask you something? It might me weird," Alec said.

"Sure."

"Can you swim?"

She chuckled. "I could, before I transferred my consciousness to the android," she said. "It's heavy metal but I'm 100% waterproof, so I can go in the water and all, but I can't swim. I'll drown, otherwise."

"Oh," Alec said. "Then it's a good thing we're heading to a small island. We should get there this evening, and then you'll touch the bottom."

Korina grinned. "Cool! What Island is it? Hawaii?"

"No, we're too far, still, from Hawaii. It's a little deserted Island that has been abandoned for 300 hundred years. It's gonna be just us."

"Huh," she said. "We're just like pirates in the _old_ old days." She grinned. "Finding new land and exploring it."

Alec laughed. "Damn right," he said. "I just hope we won't find any skeletons in a cave."

Korina chuckled and faked a shudder. "Oh, God, I hope not."

They both laughed and talked about adventure and discovering new places. Korina might be an Android, but Alec sometimes forgot about it. She was definitely on his list, that was for sure. And if he chose her – and even if he didn't at the end – he would help her find a cure for her real body. Living as an Android was not really living.

-x-

"Land!" Eris said, pointing to the horizon just as the sun was setting on the ocean, just next to the little bit of land. "Look! There's an island over there!"

Everyone in earshot of Eris joined her as the little island on the horizon got bigger and bigger by the minute.

"Welcome to our new home for the next few days," Alec said, joining the group.

"Is that Hawaii?" Petra asked.

"No, Hawaii is much further away. This is just a little island, just for us."

By now, the sky was clear, the rainy clouds gone, and the colors were breathtaking: orange, pink, purple, and the water was shimmering like diamonds all around them. The girls were excited, and so were the guys. They all waited to be close enough, and then Captain McTavish stopped the boat, and Grayson took out the smaller motor boat that was in the water hangar at the very bottom of the boat and he took eight people with him to the island. He had to make several trips to get everyone on the beach, where the cooks prepared a luxurious picnic of fruits, sandwiches, and Champagne.

"Oh my goodness," Addison said. "It feels so good to be on land, again." She grinned and wiggled her toes in the warm sand.

"It does, doesn't it," Alec said, coming near her and wrapping his arm around her waist. "It's always weird in the beginning to walk on land again. But then, it's good to be back at sea."

"How long our we staying?" she asked.

"I don't know, yet. A few days? A week?" He shrugged. "I guess it'll depend on what everyone wants to do."

Addison chuckled. "And do we sleep in tents on the beach?"

"If that's what you want," he said, teasing her. "Or you can build a bamboo hut. I, for one, am going back into the Yacht to sleep."

Addison laughed. "I might do that, too. Although sleeping under the stars doesn't seem too bad, you know?"

The Prince grinned and tightened his arm around her. "Then it's a date," he said. "We'll sleep under the stars one of these nights." He grinned and pressed a light kiss on her cheek.

* * *

 _ **Hi guys!**_

 _ **sorry this chapter is a bit shorter than usual, but I have trouble writing these days... So I preferred to give you a shorter chapter than to have you wait too long^^ thanks to those who continued posting on Pinterest!**_

 _ **Hope you're all having a great summer holiday!**_

 _ **See you soon!**_


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

The Prince, his many girlfriends, and his friends spent two perfect days half on the beach and on the boat, with the sun high in the sky, small white clouds here and there in the sky, temperatures not too high, good food, sand castles, jet ski races, and drawing in the sand. Eryn made seashell necklaces for everyone, Petra wrote messages on the sand, that were erased by the waves, and most of them suntanned.

Alec spent the second night there on the beach with Addison, counting the start and making out the Constellations, thanks to their Contacts. They were able to stay up until four in the morning. But lying down under the night sky and being lulled by the rhythmic sound of the waves finally got a hold of them, and they fell asleep. The first group to come back to the shore found them, and took pictures, before waking them up with splashes of cold water. Alec woke with a start, and then laughed when he saw who was playing that trick on them. Of course, it could only be Grayson's idea, and the girls followed his lead. Poor Addison had to wake up to such a cold joke. But she laughed it off.

"Hey!" Grayson said. "Who wants to go explore the island a bit!"

"Me!" a group of girls said, cheering. A few minutes later, Grayson walked straight for the jungle. Catiena, Danielle, Kira, Blair, Katia, Yana, Thalia, and Eris followed the young man in a single file, joined also by Austin and Cheska. She would never pass an opportunity like this, to go in a wild forest!

Alec remained on the beach with Addison, Callisto, Chris, Graham, Quinn, Eryn, Jessica, Korina, Xandra, Avonlea, and Leith and Petra. They were happy to be a little less, with less noise and less competition for the moment, lounging on beach towels, sipping mojitos.

Petra, Quinn, and Eryn started digging a large hole in the sand, whispering together of their plan. Leith, Avonlea and Chris asked what they were doing, and Petra shared with them their idea. They laughed and helped dig the hole.

Alec was sipping cocktails with the other remaining ladies and Graham, who seemed to have an eye both for Xandra, and Jessica. Katia was gone with the others for the afternoon of exploring. Alec had his back to what the others were doing, and he was telling his small audience stories of when he and his siblings were kids, of what they used to do in Hawaii, and everyone shared childhood stories. Alec was laughing at something Addison said when Leith and Chris suddenly grabbed Alec by the wrists and ankles, helped by the three girls, and they put him in the hole they had dug up. Quickly, Eryn and Avonlea shoveled the sand back on top of Alec, burying him alive, leaving only his head out of the sand.

"Warm enough?" Avonlea asked when they were done.

"Actually, the sand's pretty cool, so it's even better than out there," he said sarcastically, motioning with his head. "Can I have my cocktail? I didn't finish it."

"Oh, sure," Avonlea said. She got the glass and put it on the sand a few inches from his face, and grinned.

Alec rolled his eyes. "Seriously, Aves?"

But Avonlea just laughed and walked away.

"At least give me a straw!" Alec said, and the others laughed, too.

"Aw, come on," Eryn said, sitting in the sand on top of him. She took the glass to his lips and helped him drink.

"Thanks," Alec said sarcastically. "Who's idea was this?"

"Mine," she said, grinning. "My brother and I used to do this to my dad when we were kids," she said. "But my dad always helped us dig the hole." She chuckled, thinking back to her childhood.

"Beaches in Whites?" Alec asked.

"No, in the South. But We did that with snow, too. It was fun."

Alec shook his head. "I usually did this with Avonlea to burry Austin. He couldn't do anything," he said laughing, and trying to extract himself from his burial. "Get off me," he said. I can't even move."

Eryn burst out laughing and stepped aside. "Even without me on top of you, you won't be able to move, Alec. The hole is too deep, and the sand too heavy." She grinned and let him wrestle the sand for a moment, but to no avail. She then lay down on her belly on top of him, her face inches from his. "You can't go anywhere," she whispered and planted a light kiss on his lips. She grinned and stood up, joining the others on the beach towels, in the shade.

"So, what should we do with our prisoner?" Leith asked in his thick English accent. "Starve him?"

"I think just leaving him in the sun will be enough, don't you think?" Avonlea said, and looked over her shoulder. "Look at him, squirming in the sand." She giggled. "Do you think he can get out on his own?"

Chris shrugged. "Maybe, if he's smart and patient enough."

Alec was ignoring them altogether, focusing on getting out of his misery by himself. He moved his toes, his fingers, tried moving his arms, and any other body part that he could. Minutes passed, dragging into half an hour. But as he moved under the ground he saw the sand moving on the surface, too. He was almost getting there. Just a little more. After an hour, he was able to finally extract himself from his sandy tomb.

 _Good,_ he thought. _The others aren't watching._ He silently slipped out of the sand and made a run for his sister, grabbing her and flinging her over his shoulder. She screamed and laughed at the same time, the others following behind, laughing, too. He ran in the lapping waves and threw Avonlea in the water, himself with it. Both came out laughing. Alec needed to rinse off the sand, and he made sure his sister got a taste on her own medicine.

The others ran in the water too, splashing and laughing, and this time, Alec took a hold of Eryn and put her under the water, too.

"That is for giving them the idea," he said, lifting her back up from the water as she took her breath again, laughing. "And this," he added, kissing her, "is for giving me a drink and a kiss."

She kissed him back, giggling.

"Oh, come on!" Avonlea said, splashing them. "Get a room or something."

Alec grinned and almost replied _we will_ , but stopped short when he saw the other girls – Addison, Callisto, Quinn, Jessica, Korina, and Xandra – watching them. So Alec let go of Eryn, and joined the group, splashing around. He dived under the water and came up with his head between Addison's legs, carrying her on his shoulders. Chris and Leith both understood the message and dived, too. Leith came up with Petra on his shoulders, and Chris with Callisto. The others, cheered on as they wrestled to put each other down in the water.

After a fierce and relentless battle full of laughs and giggles, Petra and Leith won after putting Callisto and Addison in the water.

Alec then went for Korina to start a new battle with the others, but she refused.

"No, I can't let you do that," she said.

"Oh, come on, why not?"

She hesitated a second before answering. "I'm made of heavy metal, remember?" she whispered, just for him to hear, ashamed of that feature about her.

Alec smiled and planted a kiss on her cheek as he lifted her bridal style. "Don't worry about that," he said. "I'm strong enough. And," he added, "You're not as heavy as you think."

She rolled her eyes. "That's because I'm still in the water, silly," she said. "I'm lighter."

"I knew that," he said. "But I've carried my brother on my shoulders like this, and he's one big pile of muscles, and I bet it's quite the same weight, don't you think?"

She shook her head with a shy smile. "I don't know. Maybe later."

"Okay," he said, gently putting her down in the water. "Next time, then."

She nodded and he took Quinn on his shoulders, while Chris took Avonlea and Leith took Xandra. Jessica refused to be carried, for obvious reasons.

This time, Avonlea and Chris won.

"Really Alec," Avonlea said. "You really need to learn to hold them on your shoulders. You've lost a second time."

He rolled his eyes. "I slipped," he said, trying to find an excuse, and everyone laughed. He looked at Korina. "Wanna try? Maybe we can win?"

"I doubt that," she said. "But okay, let's try."

Alec grinned and dived, coming back up with Korina on his shoulders. "Take them all down," he said, wiping the water from his eyes. "Let's do this!" He and Korina wrestled against the four victors from the previous games, Leith and Petra, and Chris and Avonlea.

It was an epic battle, and after lots of laughs and funny moments, Alec and Korina were the last ones standing, making them the winners of the third match.

"Hey, look! They're back!" Quinn exclaimed, pointing toward the beach. The explorers were back, chatting and laughing amongst themselves.

Alec and the others joined them on the beach, and he noticed Cheska had gathered a gigantic bouquet of exotic flowers, and all of them were wearing flowers in their hairs.

"It was so awesome!" Kira said with pink flowers in her blond hair. "You should all have come! There was a small freshwater lake with a beautiful waterfall, and it was so fresh and good!"

After that, they were all talking at the same time. Alec mentally counted them. Twice. "Where's Eris?" he asked, and everyone fell silent, looking around. But she wasn't there. "Seriously, Grayson? You leave with nine people and you come back with only eight?"

"I didn't notice, I- I-" he stammered, looking around. "Which one is Eris?"

Alec rolled his eyes. "Blonde with blue eyes, you idiot. Did anyone notice she was missing?" he asked, and the others shook their head, shameful. "Dammit," he cursed. He mumbled something to his Contacts, asking for the Location device.

 _Error_ read on his field of vision. "Crap," he said. "There's no Satellite here." He ran his hands in his wet hair. "We're going to have a search party. The girls stay here. Avonlea, you take them back to the boat. The guys, with me."

"Hey, I want to help," Thalia said.

"Yeah, so do I," Cheska added. "I know the plants. I can recognize where we went before."

Alec sighed. "Fine. Thalia and Cheska with us. Anyone else?" Petra wanted to go, but since she hadn't gone with the exploring team, it was out of the question. So Alec left with Chris, Leith, Graham, Austin, Thalia, Cheska and Grayson back into the forest. They were on a mission. The sun was still high in the sky, but Alec didn't notice it was slowly descending towards the horizon. In the dense jungle, the light would become scarce rather quickly.

One behind the other, they followed Grayson in a single file, looking all around them, and calling Eris. Sometimes they stopped listening. All they heard were the rustling of leaves in the wind. The canopy of trees above them stopped the sun from lighting their way.

"Eris!" Alec called from time to time, hoping and praying that nothing had happened to her. He turned to Austin. "What did you guys do out here?" he asked. "What could have happened to her?"

Austin shrugged. "I have no idea. I thought they were all together. They made flower crowns and necklaces, and some bathed in the freshwater lake. There was nothing wrong, man."

Alec sighed and they continued walking, in a line side by side now, along the path they had taken.

"Look over there!" Cheska said, pointing to a tree whose low branches were broken and ran toward it. The others followed her and arrived as she ran her fingers over a slick red liquid. "Blood," she whispered.

"You're joking, right?" Chris asked.

Cheska shook her head. "No. It's blood. Look around the tree if you can find another section where there's blood, and we follow that direction."

Everyone nodded and went to work, looking for drips of blood.

"Here!" Thalia said. And sure enough, there was a spatter of blood on a large leaf. They continued following the red stains across the jungle for several meters, until they thought they had lost her track.

"Be careful," Chris said. "Stay sharp, it could have been anything."

They all stayed alert until Graham started giggling. "Can you believe this? Four princes and two high-ranking guys with two ladies roaming the jungle to find a lost girl? What are the odds?"

"Shut up, Graham," Alec said. "Focus. We need to find Eris."

Graham rolled his eyes and continued searching. "Here," he said, bored, showing the next drip of blood. The track was heading to the left, now.

"Oh, my God, what is that?" Thalia asked, pointing to a wide scratch in a tree trunk not far from where the blood was last seen.

The others looked closer and were silent for a moment. "It looks like a giant claw did that," Leith said.

"What do you mean claw?" Cheska asked. "As in paw?"

Leith nodded. "Yeah, like a giant paw."

Thalia froze and became white in a second. "Don't move," she whispered, terrorized, looking at the trees. Everyone froze and turned very slowly to look where she was looking. There, lying lazily on a low branch was a black feline. They weren't sure if it was a panther, a jaguar, or something entirely else. Once thing was sure, it was huge. Bigger, even, they what they had seen in Holovids and books. Thalia and Cheska started shaking with fear. The animal had blood dripping from its whiskers and looked at the group with an interested sparkle in its yellow eyes.

Alec tried looking behind the animal, and he thought he could see a rough stone wall. He listened carefully and he heard noises of leaves and tiny little squeaks coming from there. None of them had even seen an animal in real life. Even Zoos were extremely rare. There were only three in all of Illéa. Wild animals were extinct. At least they thought they were. Not on a deserted island. And probably the black animal didn't know what humans were, either.

"What do we do?" Austin whispered.

"I don't know," Alec replied, keeping his eyes on the animal and on what was behind it. "Maybe some could distract it while I pass by. There's something over there I need to go check," he said.

"Are you crazy?" Chris hissed. "You can't go alone."

"Fine, then come with me. The others, distract it," he ordered.

"How?" Thalia asked, shaking.

"Run!" Grayson barked out. "Do anything for it to follow us!"

While the others ran in all directions to get the animal's attention – which was working for now – Alec and Chris tiptoed towards the stone wall, which turned out to be the entrance to a cave. The two friends froze when they saw the scene in front of them.

Another adult panther – jaguar? – was lying on the ground with five tiny black and spotted cubs playing around, clumsy and cute. Alec almost smiled. But then he saw Eris, bloodied, lying on her side. From what he could see, she was still whole, no missing limbs. He took a step towards her but the bigger animal growled at him, making him freeze mid-step.

"Uh, Alec?" Chris said. "Maybe this isn't the best idea ever…"

"Shut up, Chris," Alec said. "I can't leave Eris here, and you know it."

"Yes, I know. But aren't there any guns in the Yacht?"

"I doubt it. You know they're illegal." Alec tried another step, and all the animal did was growl, a bit harder.

"Alec," Chris said. "I'm sure it can run faster than you," he continued, scared to death.

"Probably," Alec conceded. "But I have to try. I don't think it would want to leave the cubs alone."

"Right," Chris said, not convinced in the slightest. "What are you doing?"

"Getting Eris back," he said, continuing to walk slowly towards her. He was only five steps away when the mother animal stood and growled deeply, baring her fangs to Alec. He continued to walked toward Eris, making eye contact with the animal. In the forest, they heard screaming and roaring, which made the animal look away. Alec took the opportunity to grab Eris, and to throw her over his shoulder. The female panther was stuck between her cubs and their next meal, and the male who was running around the forest, with other humans. She didn't know what to do, going back and forth to the border of the forest and her cubs.

"Alec? Time to go," Chris said, staying in the cover of the trees.

"Yeah. Run," Alec said as he made a run for the jungle, leaving behind the indecisive mother and her babies. Chris and Alec had no idea where they were, and the sun was now low on the horizon, making the jungle darker than before. They knew the sun set behind the boat, so all they had to do to find the beach again was to follow what little they could see of the sun. A glimpse here and there. The shouts of the others and roaring of the male animal grew louder, as if they were following not far behind. But Alec couldn't afford to stop to look behind. He ran without thinking, Chris close on his heels. Until they arrived on the beach, the boat and the Ocean glinting in the setting sun. As soon as they got there, Avonlea jumped on the motor boat and joined the beach as fast as she could.

The other group followed a couple minutes behind, running for their lives as the male Panther jumped from a tree on to the group.

"Look out!" Avonlea called out. Austin, who was carrying a makeshift wooden weapon turned around, holding his stick in front of him, and the animal impaled itself on the wood, falling heavily on Austin. Cheska screamed, but Chris held her back. They all watched in shock and horror as the animal moved and rolled over, pushed by a safe Austin, covered in the animal's blood. "I'm okay," he said, and everyone jumped on the boat and sailed away.

* * *

 _ **Hey! Thanks for reading and reviewing on the previous chapter!**_

 _ **I'm way behind on my Nano month, but eeeeh... so what!? As long as I write, right? ^^**_

 _ **I hope you liked this chapter! I'll be leaving next Thursday until Sunday for my BFF's Wedding** (I'm the Maid of Honor...) **but I'll try to post a chapter before that. If not, then it'll be when I come back... We'll see^^**_

 ** _See you soon! And don't forget to tell me what you thought of this chapter! ;) And to go check the Pinterest board for new pins! Thanks to those who continue pinning^^_**

 _ **BYYEEE**_

* * *

 _ **AND DON'T FORGET TO GO VOTE ON THE POLL ON MY PROFILE... WILL DETERMINE THE ELITE... ;)**_


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

Callisto and Eryn, the two Nano-Tech medics of the Selection hurried themselves around Eris who was still unconscious. Callisto checked her body for any fractures or missing parts, and Eryn made sure she didn't get any infection by administrating some antibiotics thanks to her nano-tech hair-comb.

"From what I can tell," Callisto said, "she's fine. She has some teeth marks on her thigh, but not too deep. It'll leave a scar if we let it heal naturally here. When we get back to Angeles, she'll need to go to the hospital for some skin growth and to close the wound without a mark."

Alec nodded. "Thanks." He sighed. "I can't believe I let that happen," he mumbled more to himself.

"Hey, it's not your fault," Quinn said. "She probably wandered away from the group."

He looked at Quinn who had her hand on his arm and tried a smile. "Seems I can't do anything right," he added. "So many bad things happened since the beginning of the Selection. I don't have any luck."

Quinn chuckled lightly. "Like I said, none if it was your fault, okay? People sometimes want bad things, and you have a target on your back." She looked at Eris on the bed. "For Eris, it was no one's fault. Who knew there was a giant panther on the island? Seriously."

They were silent for a moment. One by one, the people went back on deck as the boat made its way back to Angeles. Only Callisto, Eryn, and Alec stayed behind, sitting next to Eris. Eryn cleaned away the dirt, blood, and mud on Eris as best she could with a damp towel while Callisto cleaned the wounds on her thigh and bandaged them. Alec just sat there, gently stroking her blond hair from her face, hoping and praying she would soon wake up. After what felt like an eternity but was only ten minutes later, Eris finally opened her eyes.

"What…" she mumbled, looking around.

"Hey," Alec said. "You're safe. Don't worry." He took the glass of water he had asked for earlier and brought it to her lips, helping her sit up a bit. "Here, drink this. It'll help a little."

She obeyed and took little sips of the fresh water. "What happened?" she asked.

Alec told her everything that happened, leaving out the part that he was the one to carry her back, putting his own life at risk. He wasn't even that brave. Just stupid and following his instincts. Eryn filled in the part he kept out, though.

"Thank you," Eris said. "You guys saved my life," she said, locking her eyes with his.

He nodded, taking her hand in his. "Now your safe, and you need to rest. As soon as we arrive back in Angeles, I'll take you to the Palace Hospital and we'll get you all fixed up, okay?"

Eris nodded and smiled at the Prince who had saved her life, her almond-shaped pastel blue eyes shining with gratitude for him. He kissed the back of her hand.

"I'll go let the others know that you woke up. I'm sure some of them will want to see you." He smiled and walked away, spreading the good news of Eris to the others. Petra, Cheska, Blair, Thalia, and Quinn immediately went to see their friend, and Alec headed for the highest roof of the Yacht. He sat there, a beer in hand, looking at the eastern horizon, back where home was.

 _Call incoming_ , he read on his contacts. "Accepting call," he mumbled.

"Alec? Is everything okay?"

"Mom? Yeah. Fine."

"How's Eris?" she asked. "And you?"

"Wait, how do you know something happened?" Alec replied.

Beatrix sighed. "Chris called me, telling me what happened. I didn't have any news from you for a week. And the Report's tomorrow night."

"It's Thursday already?"

"Yes. And I want you to come back home immediately."

"We're on our way, mom," he said, annoyed. "It'll be a few days until we get to Angeles. And forget the report tomorrow. We're not doing anything live. Use the Feed I'm sending you later today."

"Alec, what's wrong?" she cooed.

"Nothing," he said, and cut the call. He stayed in the sun for a few more minutes, until he heard too sets of steps behind him. Chris and Grayson sat next to him, on either side, their legs dangling in the air.

"Why did you call my mom?" Alec asked Chris.

He frowned. "I didn't call you mom," he said. "Why?"

"Because I just got a call from her asking me if Eris and I were okay." He paused. "If you didn't call her, how would she know?" He turned to Grayson. "Did you call her?"

"Are you crazy? Your mom scares the hell out of me. I would never call her."

The three guys laughed. "Then how does she know?" Chris asked.

"Do you think she could have hacked into the security cams of the boat?" Grayson asked. "Or your HovoCams?"

Alec shook his head. "Not the Hovos. They're tucked in a box when not in use." He turned to Grayson. "Wait. You have security cams, here?"

"Yeah. It's part of the black box, if anything happens."

Chris frowns. "Maybe she has hackers who work for her?"

"Or she has something illegal…" Alec said. "I've been wondering about this for some time, now. She knows things people don't. She knew Korina was an Android when no one else did."

"What kind of illegal?" Chris asked.

"Brain Quant," Grayson and Alec said at the same time. "Holy shit," Grayson said. "You think she has one?"

"Maybe," Alec said. "She always knows exactly what to say to sway a person. I'm not sure dad knows, though…"

"But you can't just expose her without proof," Chris said. "That could be final for her. And for your dad."

"You're right," Alec said. "But at least, if I'm right, I would some leverage over her."

"Why would you need leverage over your own mother?" Grayson asked.

Alec chuckled. "Because I'm going to be Emperor, one day. And I don't want her pulling the strings for me."

"Smart," Grayson said.

-x-

Four days later, after speeding back home, the Selection arrived back to Angeles. A whole group of fans and journalists were waiting for them at the Angeles port. The whole Royal party was tanned, wore hibiscus flowers in their hair, long summer dresses and Hawaiian shirts over their bathing suits, and sun glasses. Coming back to the stagnant air of the PlexiDome after the fresh Ocean air was difficult. But thankfully, the Palace was air-conditioned. They filed in one after the other in a large HovoTransport and headed to the Palace, where Beatrix and Theodore were waiting for them. They hugged their kids and welcomed everyone back inside. The girls went back to their rooms to unpack and get ready for dinner. Protocol and Etiquette was back into action for everyone.

Eris was taken to Dr. Marshall who fixed her up in no time. But she wanted to keep the scars on her thigh, in memory of The Selection, and how Alec saved her life. Once fixed up, she was free to walk and go back to her room. She didn't even feel a thing, thanks to the nano-tech medicine.

Alec went to his own room. On his desk was a tablet waiting for him. He turned it on and saw everything council and government related he had missed during these two weeks of vacation. Now that he was back, he needed to get back to work, Selection or not.

But first, Alec needed a long and warm shower. He went to the bathroom, undressed and ordered it. He stayed there for a good half hour, thinking back on his vacation weeks, and on what he needed to do now. Honestly? He had no idea.

Once he was ready, he called for his sister. A few minutes later, she arrived in a see-through white lace dress with a white tiny tube-dress underneath.

"You summoned me, Your Royal Highness?" she said sarcastically, bowing when she entered.

Alec turned around. "You're wearing _that_?" he said, surprised. "Alistair's not here. You know that, right?"

"Shut up, Alec," she said sitting on his bed. "What do you want."

"You're still organizing the Selection, right?"

"Yeah…?"

"Okay, good," he said, running his hand through his hair. "What's next?"

Avonlea rolled her eyes. "Well, you maybe want to start thinking about the Elite, Alec. And once you did that, maybe you'll want to meet the families?"

"The families?" He chuckled. "Why?"

"Alec. You don't marry just a person. You marry into a whole family."

Alec laughed. "In this situation, she's the one marrying into a whole royal family."

Avonlea glared at him. "It goes both ways, you idiot."

He sat next to her on the bed. "And since when do you know about marriage and family, Aves?"

"Do you want my help, or not?"

"Yes."

"Then do as I say," she stood and went for the door. "Think seriously about your Elite."

"How many should be in the Elite?"

Avonlea shrugged. "How many you want. But I would suggest no more than ten, though."

Alec fell on his bed and stared at the ceiling. Keeping only ten girls meant eliminating at least five. Six or seven if he wanted less Elite. He pressed the palms of his hands on his eyes and sighed. "How the hell am I going to do that?" he mumbled. Then remembered he had a spy on the inside to help him choose the Elite… He'll need to organize a fake date with Petra soon.

-x-

The next morning, he was busy with his father, Catiena, and the Council: they still had some bad guys to catch. Sir Markus, the Security Minister, Silas Brown, Chris's father, and Mikael Bacchian, the Head of Security at the Palace had decided of a plan while the young people were on vacation. Now, they were discussing it with Alec and Catiena. They needed her knowledge of Time Hacking to make sure the plan would work.

"So you want me to infiltrate the kidnappers and find out when and where they're taking those kids?" Catiena asked. "With no back-up? On my own?"

"Yes," Mr. Brown said. "Do you have a better idea, Miss?"

Catiena raised an eyebrow. "With all due respect, sir, I'll need a little more than a tap on the back. This is the Mafia. And I've dealt with them for many years. Enough to know how they function. But if I get caught, I'm done, and you know that."

"Don't get caught, then," Brown said.

"Do you want to help or not?" Theodore asked. "Because if you do and you manage to help catch them, I'll cover you in riches, give you back your life as a Reeves that you deserve and take care of your step-mother."

Catiena knew she couldn't refuse that. She thought for a couple seconds. "Fine. I'll do it. But once I find out when and where they go, I'll need backup."

"Once you infiltrate them and find that out, you'll have the whole army right behind you, ready," Sir Markus said. He turned to the Android by the door. "Bring in the General," he ordered and the Android opened the door to let the man in. Catiena had never seen a man this tall and large in her life. _Surely, he was pumped wit nano-tech to be this big_ , Catiena though. He was wearing the white official military uniform with his many honorary badges and symbolic sword at his side. Of course, the sword was never used. He had guns under his jacket. He was bald with a salt and pepper beard, dark brown eyes, and a stern look on his face.

"This is General Vinsent," Sir Markus said. "Also known as The Rock by his men. He will be leading the Army when you find out what we need."

The General saluted without a word and sat at the table with them, keeping his serious look and listening intently to everything. Catiena felt judged and calculated by the giant, but she quickly tried to forget about it…

Around noon, they had finished preparing the whole plan, and Catiena was sent to an Avatar designer, who would change her facial feature for the duration of the mission. People couldn't recognize her or it wouldn't work. The change was made by High-Nano-Technology, a sort of hologram image of her new face on top of her normal face. As long as she wore the nano-tech hologram necklace, the image would hold and follow her facial movements. Only a highly trained nano-tech Specialist could see it.

Lunch that day was the last one before her mission. After that, she would be 'sick', and not to be disturbed. No one would know about her mission.

-x-

"I got your message," Petra said when she saw Alec.

"Glad you could come," he replied with a grin. "Fancy a drink?" He pointed to a table for two, near the greenhouse on the roof. Austin and Cheska were out for the day, so the roof was his.

"Oooh, yes please," she said, sitting on a chair. Alec served them both a glass of Champagne and they toasted. "So," she said. "You want to know what I found out?"

"Yeah," he said, sighing. "I need to choose the Elite soon. But I want to keep only those who have good intentions and feelings for me."

"I understand," she said. "Do you have feelings for any of them?" she dared ask.

The Prince chuckled. "Yes, I do. But I need to know if they love me in return or not. I'm not going to choose a wife who does not love me."

Petra smiled sipping her Champagne. "Wise words." She put down her glass. "So, let me see. You saved Eris's life and she thinks you're her fairy tale Prince Charming. Ever since that day she has seen you this way."

"Okay…" Alec said. "That was not was I was going for, but okay."

"Next, we have, uh, Blair. Now it's complicated with her. She likes you, but she still clings to the past. There's something about her brother, but I couldn't find out what it was. And this might hamper things between you too. She feels guilty about something, but I don't know what."

Alec frowned and mumbled a command to his Contacts, asking for the Selected's files. He looked for Blair's. "She doesn't have a brother," he said at last.

"Maybe she _had_ a brother…" Petra said. "Anyway. Next, Katia. She's terrified of falling in love. I have no idea why, though. She's trying hard not to, but I could still hear her think a lot about you."

Alec chuckled. "Okay, that's gonna be complicated."

"Yeah, but you asked for it," she shrugged, sipping her drink. "Quinn is head over heels for you, and so are a few others. But she's thinking about getting in the Palace system. She has something on her, I don't know what, that can help her get in."

"She's a spy?"

"No, I don't think so," Petra said. "But from what I could gather, she's not just an Internal Affairs Specialist. She works with her dad as a Technology Intelligence Agent. She has access to a lot of things. Apparently, she likes to keep track of people and is very suspicious of people with a shady past. Catiena, for example," she said, chuckling. "But you already know about her."

"Yeah. I'll have to find out how she can access our system, and what she does with it." Petra nodded. "And you said there were several other who were _head over heels_ for me?" he asked slyly. "Who are they?"

"Can't you tell who it is?" Petra said pushing him playfully. "If I tell you everything, where's the fun! I'll tell you only the weird and dangerous stuff."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine. Who's next, then? Oh, is there anything off about Jessica?"

"Jess? Nah… she's just a wild and extrovert person. Nothing weird there."

"Okay…" he said, not really convinced.

"You know Xandra. But she has absolutely no feelings for you. She does have a crush on Graham, though."

"Yeah, I figured that much. I don't have any feelings for her either, to be honest."

"Then why did you keep her?" she asked. "Sorry, that's not for me to ask."

"No it's fine. Just because she needed to stay in order to get more fame for her job as an actress." He shrugged. "But I think that's long enough, though…"

Petra laughed and looked at the digital sunset on the PlexiDome. "It was way prettier for real," she said dreamily. "How do you come back to life under the 'Dome after that time in the open?" she asked.

Alec took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "It's the hardest part, to be honest. The roof's the closest we'll get to that feeling." They were both silent for a moment, watching the sun slowly go down. "Are you gonna go to England with Leith after this?"

"Probably. But first I'll take him to my family. He wants to do things properly and ask my dad first."

Alec chuckled. "A true Gentleman. Do you think your parents will approve?"

Petra laughed and refilled both their glasses. "I signed up to marry a Prince, remember? It's just not the one I signed up for in the first place."

"Yeah, but marrying me would mean staying in Illéa. If you go to England, you'll be far from your family."

She smiled lightly and looked at the golden liquid in her glass. "If I marry Leith, I'll be a Princess. I guess I can travel pretty easily. Or have my family travel."

Alec smiled and took her hand in his. "You know, I'm really glad you found your happily ever after, even if it's not with me. I'm really honored to have you as a friend."

Petra looked up and smiled. "Me too, Alec." Again, a comfortable silence enveloped them. "You know you're cheating in this Selection, right?" she said slyly.s

"How so?" he asked innocently.

"By using me." Her smile went all the way up to her eyes.

"I'm just having a conversation with my friend to think things through."

She rolled her eyes and pushed him playfully. "A friend with super-powers, remember?"

Alec chuckled. "I'm glad we did this," he said. "by the way, any other weird or dangerous stuff you can point out?"

"Uhm… Callisto. She has a serious crush on Chris," she said. "But she's trying to push that away until you choose the One."

"Yeah, I already knew that," he said. "I heard them talking about it."

"Oh, well you don't need me, then," she says faking offense. "Because that's all I could find out." Both laughed and finished their second glass. They continued talking a bit until the sky was dark, and then went back down to their own rooms.

Alec knew he would have to make a choice, and fast. And then invite the families…

* * *

 _ **Hiiiiiii! I'm back! sorry for this long pause! But my best friend's wedding was awesome, and I was honored to be her Maid of Honor ;) and decorator, too^^**_

 _ **anyway... hope you liked this chapter, and that you're having a great summer vacation! :)**_

 _ **Don't forget the poll on my profile! only 5 voters so far... It'll decide the Elite for the next chapter... OMG! THE ELITE WILL BE CHOSEN IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! so go vote ;)**_

 _ **Thanks to those who review and post on Pinterest constantly! ;) I really appreciate your dedication to this story and to your characters!**_

 _ **See you soon!**_


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

"Good evening, Illéa!" Clyde Volt said as he practically jumped on the stage from the side. "I hope you're all having a great time and that you're comfortably seated, because tonight will be full of surprises and great moments!" He grinned and the Live audience cheered and applauded, impatient to know what was going to happen.

So were the girls. Only one of them knew what was going to happen, because she could read minds… But the others were oblivious to what was about to happen. Maybe not totally oblivious, because this was going to happen at some point.

Alec had never been more nervous on a Report. It would be all about him and his choices, that evening. And now that the Clyde had started, he wasn't so sure anymore.

"But before we get to the interesting part," Clyde continued, "the particular event we've all been waiting for, I want to let our dear Emperor say a few words." He turned around to look at Theodore. "Your Majesty? Would you join me here?"

Theodore nodded and joined the young man in the middle of the stage. He squeezed Clyde's shoulder, and the Report Host walked away leaving the Emperor alone.

"Good evening," he said. "I am happy to have my children back in Illéa after their little vacation trip." He grinned and paused. "But this is not why I'm here tonight," he continued. "I am here to tell you that we are still working very hard to find those missing people. I wish I could promise you we had some lead to find them, but we don't." He wanted to mislead the Time Hackers and give Catiena a chance to infiltrate them without them suspecting the Emperor. "When something new arises, I will personally let you know. In the meantime, what I can promise you, is a better place for your children and loved ones once this threat has been eradicated. Of that I can assure you that I will do my very best." He nodded to the Audience and HovoCams around him, trying to catch the eye of people watching him. "And now, I'll leave you with Clyde and Alec," he added with a lopsided grin. "You've been waiting long enough."

He went back to his throne in the middle of the back of the stage, next to Beatrix who took his hand in hers and gave him a light squeeze. They shared a smile, and focused again on Clyde and Alec.

The fourteen remaining girls – Catiena was on her mission – sat on the side in two rows, and wearing elegant gowns. That night would be special, and Alec had asked they be their most beautiful selves for this Report. Because some of them would be here for the last time…

"Without further ado," Clyde said, "Alec wanted to come back on some of his favorite moments of the Selection. He and I worked all afternoon yesterday to choose the moments he wanted to show you." He turned around and the giant HoloScreen in the middle of the Stage came to life, showing moments of the Selection.

First there was the group he went to the beach with – Xandra, Quinn and Danielle – and then the hike with Addison. Next, they saw the bike ride with Kira, the candlelit dinner with Catiena, and the evening drinks on the rooftops with Blair. Alec also wanted to show some moments of their cruise: The jet skis, the jacuzzi all dressed up, the island, and the games in the ocean.

There were lots of laughs, tears, and holding hands among the girls. They were slowly beginning to understand that this was a turning point in the Selection. Some would leave and some would stay, and they decided to enjoy every moment of it until it was time for them to leave.

When the short Holovid was over, everyone was smiling and crying at the same time. Everyone but Alec. He was too nervous to do anything else than bounce his foot really fast under his chair.

"Prince Alec?" Clyde finally said. "Would you like to join me, please?"

Alec didn't hear him, and continued to stare in the distance.

"Alec," Austin hissed, nudging him in the arm.

"What?" he said coming out of his daze.

Austin motioned to Clyde. "He's calling you, man."

Alec became pale pretty fast, but quickly recovered. "Shit," he whispered before standing up and joining the Host in the middle of the stage. "Sorry," Alec said, finding his smile again. "I was thinking."

Clyde smirked. "Someone's a little nervous?"

Alec chuckled. "Naah… I'm just human."

Both men laughed.

"So," Clyde said. "I understand you have something special to say to the ladies?"

"Yeah," Alec replied, taking a deep breath. "I do." He turned to face the girls. "Yana, Kira, Blair, Xandra, Callisto, Eris, and Petra, could you please join me here?" Catiena would have been on the list had she not been on her mission, or 'sick'…

The girls looked at each other, confused, but obeyed. Clyde asked them to stand in a line, facing the public.

A small hovering table with eight black boxes on it arrived on the stage, controlled remotely by a tech guy behind the scenes. Alec took the first box and opened it, taking a pearl necklace in it and walking straight to Xandra.

"Xandra, I chose a Pink pearl for you," he said, tying it around her neck. "It means Energy, Success, Fame, and Romance, and this is all I wish for you in your life. I hope you find what you look for in your job, too." He smiled and took her hand in his, kissing the back of it delicately.

The next pearl necklace was for Yana. "I chose the White pearl, for you, Yana," he said, putting the necklace on her, "because It means Innocence, Beauty, Sincerity and New Beginnings. I really hope you find this new beginning, as a Three, and that you can achieve your dreams." Again, he kissed the back of her hand, and when he looked up, there was a single tear on Yana's cheek.

"Thank you," she said.

The third box was destined to Eris. "This is a Green pearl, Eris," he said, "and it means Balance, Nature, Growth and Renewal, and I really hope that this new chapter in your life is a renewal, and that you can do something new that makes you grow even more as a Three."

Alec didn't have time to kiss her hand, because she hugged him fiercely. "Thank you," she whispered in his ear, "for saving my life and for giving me a second chance." She broke the hug and looked in his ice blue eyes. "It is a renewal," she added with a sad smile.

Alec smiled, too, and went for the fourth box. "Petra," he said, "for you I chose the Blue pearl. Blue means Truth, Tranquility, Trust and Courage. And that's exactly what I found in you during these past months. I know you found love elsewhere, and I'm truly happy for you." He took a deep breath and had to swallow back his tears to finish. "I'm gonna miss you."

"Me too," she said. "But we'll see each other, again," she added with a smirk. "I'll come back to Illéa, and you can come to England with your bride."

Alec chuckled. "Of course, we will." They hugged and Alec took the fifth box.

He went to stand in front of Kira. "For you, dear Kira, I thought the Yellow pearl would suit you best," he said. "Creativity, Optimism, Clarity and Happiness have always been in you, and I hope you'll continue to bear these aspects of life close to your heart." Instead of kissing her hand, he hugged her. "I'm sorry we didn't get to have our second swimming date during our trip… Some things happened, and we had to cut it short." He chuckled. "I wish you luck and happiness in your life, Kira."

"Thank you," she said, "And don't worry. I'll write to you the day I overcome my fear of the ocean." Alec could hear the tears in her voice. But he knew no one would make a scene on a Live Report.

"Please do, I'll be really happy to hear about you."

"And I hope you find the right One," she added as they broke the hug.

The audience _aaww-ed_ and applauded, and Alec went for the sixth necklace with a purple pearl. "Blair," he said, "I thought the Purple pearl would suit you best. I don't know what you will chose to do in your new life as a Three. Maybe you'll continue to be a Nostalgist, or maybe you'll do something entirely different. But this Purple pearl means Art, Wisdom, Complexity, Nobility, and Passion, and I hope this will accompany you in your new life."

He hugged her, too, and as he hugged her, she whispered in his ear: "Thank you. I wish you love," she said, and Alec and her locked their eyes.

"Thanks," he said.

There were two boxes left, and only one Lady left on the stage. He took one of the two boxes and took the necklace to Callisto. "Callisto," he said, "You're a healer with a great heart and a passion for others. So I chose the Chocolate Pearl, meaning Harmony, Dependability, Healing, Comfort, and Protection. And I hope you'll continue to help others like you have done in the past." He looked at the audience and found Chris on the first row. "And I know there's a certain someone who'll be waiting for you after the Report," he said. "Don't make him wait." He smiled slyly and hugged her. "And I'll see you often if you do choose him," he whispered only for her to hear.

Callisto quickly wiped a tear on her cheek. "Thanks," she said. "Did you hear our conversation?" she asked suspiciously.

Alec made a face. "Maybe?" he chuckled. "The boat was not that big," he said in defense.

Callisto chuckled and nodded her thanks to the Prince.

Then Alec took the last box and turned to the audience and the HovoCams. "The last necklace is for a Lady who can't be with us tonight for health reasons. I know she's watching the Report from her bedroom. So, Catiena," he said, "I give you the Black pearl, which means Mystery, Independence, Strength, and Riches. And I knew these characteristics suited you best. You've been a mystery to me, sometimes, and you're independent and strong, and now I wish you all the riches and love in the world."

He put the box back on the hovering table and it hovered away, back to the technician controlling it.

"Wow," Clyde said. "That was the most touching Elite Elimination I have ever heard of," he said. He turned to the Ladies still standing on the stage. "The Prince has honored you today, and I wish you all the best for your future life," he said. "You may go back to your seats." He paused, waiting for them to sit. "And as for the Seven remaining Selected Ladies, I wish you good luck, and may the best one win!" he said, and the curtains closed, ending the Report for the week.

-x-

Later that evening, after dinner, the seven eliminated girls went back to their rooms to pack their bags. They would be leaving in the morning, after a quick breakfast in their rooms. This was the last evening they would be spending at the Palace. It was hard to leave behind all that had happened. And they could only bring back with them one dress of their choosing. The rest of their Selected clothes and jewelry would be actioned off, and the money donated to a place of their choice.

While the Elite chatted and celebrated together in the Women's Room with Champagne and other goodies, Alec made a round of the rooms to say goodbye to the eliminated.

"I'm glad you didn't tell us before the Report who it was going to be," Blair said, playing with her new necklace. "We knew you would probably be choosing the Elite tonight, but I think the surprise helped us not to break down, you know?" She chuckled lightly, hiding as best she could how disappointed she was. "But the pearl was a good idea," she added.

Alec smiled. "I'm sorry there has to be an elimination at all."

"Don't be," she said, sighing and smoothing her skirt. "It's part of the game." She paused. "I mean… it's part of the Selection. We signed up for this. Only one would win, right?"

Alec nodded, not really sure what to say. "Yeah."

"I never stood a chance, did I?" she said, breaking the silence.

"That's the sad part," he said. "You did, once…"

After that, she said she wanted to be alone, so Alec said goodbye and went to see the others.

-x-

An hour later, Alec joined the Elite – Addie, Danielle, Quinn, Eryn, Thalia, Korina, Jesscia and Katia – in the Women's Room. Eryn walked up to him when he came in, with a second glass in her hand. "Here," she said. "Your favorite: Pinot Noir."

Alec grinned. "Thanks," he said. "I do need a drink tonight."

"What you did on the Report," Korina said, "was really kind and thoughtful," she said. "You could have called us instead and forget about them, but you honored them."

"You knew the people would be seeing more of us in the future," Thalia added, "so you wanted to give them the spotlight one last time."

"And the pearls were a super cute idea," Addison said.

Alec chuckled. "Thanks. But I'm not here to talk about that," he said. He raised his glass. "To the Selection, and to us," he toasted. "May love win and my we all live happy ever after," he said.

"May we live happily ever after!" the girls repeated, toasting their glass to the Prince and future Emperor of Illéa. They all drank and sat back on the couches. Alec took off his bow tie and his suit coat, and they chatted and drank all evening until late in the night. The Elite went back to bed around three in the morning, leaving Alec alone on the couch. He let his head fall on the pillow and stared at the ceiling.

"So…" Avonlea said, sitting down unladylike next to him a few minutes later.

"Aren't you in bed, yet?"

"Nope. Can't sleep."

Alec chuckled. "Why not? It's not like your life took a major turn, tonight."

She was silent a moment, fiddling with the fem of her dress. "I need a drink," she said, grabbing the bottle of Champagne and drinking directly from it.

Alec raised an eyebrow. "Woah, what happened?" he said, turning to face her. He wasn't too drunk to have a civil conversation.

Avonlea looked at him and drank another gulp from the bottle. "I just ended a call with His Royal Highness Prince Alistair," she said.

"What?" He chuckled. "What did he want?"

She sighed. "He wants to come back to Illéa for the end of your Selection."

"But why? Doesn't his father need him? Like, isn't he sick or something? Shouldn't Alistair be stepping up, soon?"

"Yes," Avonlea said. "But the doctors found a way to slow the illness and Alistair can leave for a few weeks."

"But what does it have to do with my Selection?"

"It's just an excuse," she said, shrugging. "He asked if he could come back to _court_ me. Can you believe that?"

Alec chuckled and shook his head. "That's a nice change from what you had when you were kids."

"Shut up," she said, pushing him playfully. "We weren't kids."

"What did you tell him?"

"I said he could come, but I didn't promise him anything else."

Alec grinned slyly. "No way… Is Princess Avonlea finally opening her heart again?"

"No, I'm not," she replied without conviction. "It just…"

"What? You're lonely?"

She shrugged. "I watch you date all those girls, have a Selection – which you're not done yet – and even Austin found love. I mean… why not me?"

Alec wrapped his arm around his little sister's shoulders and pulled her close to him. She rested her head on his shoulder. "Exactly. Why not you?" he repeated. "But promise me something, though."

"What?"

"You'll give him a chance, okay?"

She didn't answer right away, but finally she nodded. "Fine." She yawned and closed her eyes, still resting on her brother's shoulder. "Thanks," she mumbled.

A few minutes later, they were both fast asleep, snoring…

* * *

 _ **Heyyy! I hope you liked this chapter, and that you're not too disappointed if your girl was eliminated... But your votes chose the Elite.**_ (There were some ties among the ones with the least votes, so I made some choices too^^)

 _ **Thanks for your reviews and for continuing to stick with this story^^ even when I don't seem to find inspiration sometimes (although this chapter was written in only one day^^)**_

 _ **I'm leaving for some vacation for a week starting tomorrow, and I don't know if I'll have Wifi. If i don't, I'll continue writing, and if I do, maybe I can post another chapter... we'll see! In any case! see you soon! :) And I hope you're having a great summer!**_


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

Alec met with his father and their advisors for a HoloCall with Catiena. She was hiding in one of their safehouses in Waverly, after following a group of Time Hackers there.

"I've met them," she said, "but I'm not inside, yet. They don't trust me." She sighed. "It's going to take a little longer."

Theodore smiled. "As long as you can enter their midst, we'll wait."

"But the faster you can do it," Sir Markus added, "the better it is for everyone. The missing kids and people will need your help."

"I know that, sir," Catiena replied, annoyed. "If you know another way to get on the inside, then please tell me." She took a deep breath, remembering she was in front of the Emperor himself. "With all due respect, Your Majesty," she said, "just let me do my job. I know them better than anyone. But they don't know who I am, anymore, since they don't recognize me. It's going to take some time to get their trust."

"Of course," Theodore replied. "Don't mind him," he added. "He's a ball of nerves."

They continued talking over what else she had discovered and what the next phase of the plan was.

-x-

"Alec?" Avonlea called, looking for her brother. "Alec!" She sighed. "Damnit, where are you," she mumbled. Then she stopped and connected to her Contacts. "Call Alec," she ordered, blinking once. Alec answered on the third buzz.

"What, Aves?" he said.

"Sorry to bother you, Your Royal Highness," she said sarcastically, "but where are you?"

He chuckled. "Um… far?"

"What do you mean _far_?" she said, walking up and down the hall. "The Elite's families are going to arrive at any moment, now."

"I know," he said, clearly drinking something between his replies.

"Alec," she said. "Are you drunk?"

"Of course, not," he said. "I'm just having a drink with my friends."

"When the families are coming?" she fumed. "What were you thinking? Ugh!"

Alec chuckled again. "Tell them it's part of the game, and I'll meet them tomorrow. Tell Cass Riley to organize a brunch outside."

"Outside? Where? And why, Alec? Don't you want to meet them?"

"Not really, no. Not right now," he said. "Look. Let me have this last day with Chris and Grayson, something like a Bachelor party, and let the girls reunite with their families without me around. It'll be easier for everyone."

Avonlea rolled her eyes.

"Don't roll your eyes at me, Aves." He grinned and took a sip of his beer. "And thanks for handling everything." With that, he ended the call and Avonlea was left alone in the hall. She grunted in exasperation and went to look for Cass. But instead of walking around the Palace and wasting her time, she called the Palace Manager.

"Cass?" Avonlea said as soon as the call was accepted. "Alec's gone with Chris and Grayson, and he's not meeting the families today. He wants a brunch tomorrow morning, outside to meet them."

"Wait, wait, wait," Cass said. "Hold on a second. What do you mean outside?"

"I don't know," Avonlea said, throwing her arms in the air. "Just something different, I guess. He wants to let the girls have their family reunion without him."

Cass sighed. "Fine. I guess we don't have a choice, right?"

"Nope." She sighed. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, Princess," Cass replied. But there was no sarcasm in her voice, only respect and love for the young lady.

Avonlea ended the call and sighed. She looked out the window and saw the air HovoTransport arrive in the distance. All the families had been invited to stay a night at the Royal Hotel in Angeles while everyone arrived so they could come all together at the Palace. The Princess took a deep breath and walked down the hall to the Vacuum. But just around the corner, she bumped into someone familiar.

"Alistair?" she said.

"Hey, Aves, I was looking for you," he said with his sophisticated British accent. "They're coming."

"Yeah, I know," she said, looking tired.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she replied, forcing a smile. "I'm just tired. Alec's gone and now I have to deal with this."

"Oh."

They walked to the Vacuum and ordered the 9thfloor, where the families would be arriving at the main entrance. All the girls were already there, two-legged balls of nerves. Clearly some were excited and impatient, while others seemed nervous and worried.

Android servants opened the double doors, revealing the families outside.

"Welcome!" Avonlea said, stepping towards them, arms outstreached. "Your daughters and sisters are impatient to see you!" She stepped aside and the families walked in, nervous. Some remembered their manners and curtsied and bowed to Avonlea. "The Emperor and Empress will be meeting you later," she said. "As well as Prince Alec."

When they understood that they would be alone with their daughters and sisters, they quickly walked inside.

Eryn was so excited she couldn't hold it in, anymore. She practically ran into her twin brother's arms who met her half way.

"Ezra!" she said. "Oh, my goodness, I'm so happy to see you!"

He hugged her really tightly. "Me too, sis!" They hugged like that for a whole minute, enjoying each other's presence. "I missed you so much," she whispered in her hair. "Home's not the same without you. Are you okay? No missing limbs?"

"I'm fine!" she said, laughing at her brother's protectiveness. Eryn broke the hug and held him at arm's length. "I missed you, too," she said. Then she saw her dear parents, Luka and June Vega, waiting on the side for the twin's reunion to end. But they were used to it. Eryn hugged her parents.

"Eryn," June Vega said. "We're so proud of you! Look at you, you're so beautiful! This blue dress looks amazing on you, bringing your eyes out just perfectly."

"Thanks, mom," Eryn replied with a smile.

"We miss you so much at home," her mom continued. "But you seem to be happy here." She chuckled. "I didn't know you had a soft spot for the Prince, though," June added with a smirk.

"Neither did I," Eryn said with a grin. "But he's just amazing and I couldn't help it."

"I just want you to be careful," her father said. "I don't want you to end up with a broken heart."

"Don't worry, Dad. Even if I do, broken hearts heal… with time." She smiled and squeezed his hand.

He nodded. "Okay," he said without conviction. "I trust you know what you're doing."

"Me too!" she said, laughing. "Come on, I want to meet Korina, one of my best friends, here."

Korina was talking with her mother, Lealone Kirk, after they hugged for two minutes.

"Are you okay? Have you experienced any malfunctions?"

Korina chuckled. "I'm fine, mom," she said. "Nothing's wrong with me."

"Good," Lealone replied. "Because if there's anything, you tell me, and I can fix you."

"Like I said, I'm fine," she said again. "Oh, hi, Eryn."

"Hey. This is my mom and dad," Eryn said proudly, presenting them to Korina, "and my brother Ezra."

Korina shook hands with Eryn's parents. No one outside the Palace knew that Korina was an Android. They had kept it secret, and hers to tell if she wanted. And when she saw Ezra, she laughed.

"Wow, your brother looks exactly like you," she said.

"Yeah," Ezra said chuckling and putting his arm protectively around his sister's shoulders. "People say that."

Eryn rolled her eyes and Korina laughed. Lealone, June and Luka exchanged some small talk while the girls and Ezra talked.

A little farther away, Thalia was talking with her own parents. She was an only child and her parents' only disappointment.

"Thalia," Sylvia Moreau said. "I'm glad to see you," she said with indifference.

"Me too," Thalia said. In a way, it was true. But she was afraid of what would happen with them around. They were so self-centered, and she didn't have a chance to warn Alec about them, yet.

"Have you kissed him yet?" Her mother asked bluntly.

Thalia frowned. "Not yet, but I'm sure it'll happen at some point," she said.

"You have to take matters in your own hands, Thalia," her mother advised. "If you want to be Queen, you need to show him who's in charge."

Thalia rolled her eyes.

"Have you mentioned our nano-medic clinic to the royal family?" Her father, Henri Moreau said. "Imagine how many more patients that would bring us."

"No, I haven't," she said, starting to be annoyed.

"You're so selfish," her mother said. "And I did not raise you like that."

Thalia sighed and looked away. Her gaze fell on Quinn who was deep in a heartfelt reunion with her father.

"Quinny," he said, hugging her. "I've missed you so much. The Bureau misses you as well. It's a wreck, honestly. Forget this whole Princess notion and come home." He chuckled sarcastically and Quinn laughed.

"Not a chance," she said, knowing what he said was a joke.

"You know I've met the Emperor a couple times before," he said.

"What? You never told me!"

"I have my own share of secrets, you know?" he said slyly. "Now, which girl is the one you keep telling me about?" he said, looking at the girls. All the Selected were wearing blue dresses for the occasion, so it was fairly easy to spot them in the middle of the crowd. Now, Android servants were passing around with trays piled with food and drinks. "Wait, I think I recognize her from the Reports. Is that her over there?" He nodded to Danielle.

"Yes, but dad, leave her alone. She doesn't need another crazy Woodson interrogating her…" she said, rolling her eyes. She didn't want her dad to embarrass her in front of everyone.

"I wouldn't dare," he said, faking offense. "You know I'm not like that."

Both laughed and Julia Woodson, Quinn's step-mother since her father remarried a few years after her own mother died, joined them.

"Hello Julia," Quinn said.

"Quinn," Julia said, hugging her step-daughter quickly. "It's good to see you again." She looked at Quinn in her short spaghetti strap blue dress. "Quinn, we're so proud of you! Look at the impact you've made here. It's fantastic!" she said with a light pitched giggle. "And you look absolutely gorgeous."

"Thanks," Quinn said.

"Everyone? Can I have your attention?" Cass Riley said, lightly tapping a knife on a crystal glass. The room went silent and everyone focused on her. "Thank you," she continued. "Each family will be given a room or two, depending on the number of people who came, so please follow the Android servant who has been assigned to your family. The remaining Elite have been moved to the 13thfloor, and the families will be settled on the 12thfloor. Please follow your Android, and meet us for dinner at seven o'clock on the 10thfloor, in the dining room." She smiled and let everyone follow the Androids to their new rooms for the next few days or even weeks.

When everyone was gone upstairs, Cass was left alone with Avonlea.

"Princess, you look tired. Why don't you take the day off, like Alec? I'll take care of them."

Avonlea smiled. "You'd do that?"

"Of course."

"Thank you so much. I might just go take a nap before dinner."

"Excellent idea," Cass said. "I'll have April Ebony, your maid, wake you up and help you get ready."

Avonlea nodded her thanks and walked away, yawning. Long gone was the time where she could sleep in, go to fashion shows, be worshiped as Queen of her own fashion Empire, and do whatever she wanted. Now she had to train the next Empress, deal with the families, with Alec's whims, and with Alistair, now.

"Speaking of the devil," she mumbled when she saw him coming out of his room.

"Hey," he said with a smile. "Where are you going?"

"Taking a nap," she said. "I'm exhausted."

"Excellent idea," he replied. "Can I join you?" he asked slyly, knowing she wouldn't accept, anyway.

Avonlea chuckled. "Maybe not today. I really need to sleep, right now. But you'll be my date for dinner, right?"

"Absolutely," he said, bowing to the Princess. "It'll be my pleasure."

She nodded and quickly went to her room. She took off her dress and slipped in her underwear in the crisp and cold covers of her bed. She closed her eyes. "Sleep," she ordered to her Contacts who connected to her brain to turn it off and make her sleep until April Ebony would wake her up.

-x-

Far away north of Angeles, in the black restaurant suspended over the crashing waves of the Ocean against the cliff, Alec was happily spending the rest of the day with his two best friends.

"Just like the good old times," Grayson said, lifting his beer to toast.

"Yep," Alec said. "But this is probably the last time we'll be able to do this." He sighed. "In a few weeks, I'm probably going to be engaged, then in a few months I'll be married." He made a face.

"What's wrong with that?" Grayson asked, taking a sip.

"What's wrong with that?" Alec repeated. "Everything's wrong with that. It means I'll be Emperor soon, it means I'll have a wife, more responsibilities, I'll even maybe be a dad…" he trailed off, thinking of Calliope and her fake pregnancy and how he was excited about it. "Actually no. I take that back, being a dad is actually pretty cool."

"So is being a husband and an Emperor," Grayson said.

Alec shot him a look. "No. A husband maybe, but not an Emperor." He rolled his eyes and gulped down some of his beer. Do you have any idea what that means?"

Grayson shrugged. "Some, I guess." He looked at Chris who was silent. "What do you think, Chris?"

"What?" he said, coming out of his daze.

"We're talking about Alec, here. Where are you?"

Alec chuckled. "I bet he's with a long-haired lady," he said slyly.

"Shut up," Chris said, punching Alec in the arm.

"Ha! I was right!"

"So," Grayson said. "Speaking of a wife. Do you have anyone in mind? Have you fallen in love, yet?"

Alec raised an eyebrow and drank his beer, avoiding the question as long as possible. "What do you know about love, Gray?"

"I had a girlfriend, back in France, if you must know."

"How long ago?" Chris asked. "Because from what I've seen, you've had your eye on one of the Selected." He grinned slyly.

"What?" Grayson said. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Yeah, you do," Alec said. "I saw it, too." He chuckled. "That's also one of the reasons I've kept her around, mind you."

Red started creeping up Grayson's neck, but he quickly recomposed himself. "I still have no idea who you're talking about."

Chris and Alec exchanged a glance and chuckled.

"And besides," Gray continued as if nothing happened, "it wouldn't be very nice of you to keep her around and give her false hope."

"There's no false hope," Alec said. "I've also seen how she looks at you. You spent almost every day with her on the cruise! Don't you think I see things like that?"

"Fine," Grayson said. "Two can play at this game. Maybe you were right for Chris and Callisto, and maybe you'll be right for me, too. Although I'm not saying you are."

"No, of course not," Alec said ironically.

"But we can also see things you don't see," Gray said. "We see things maybe you don't _want_ to see."

Alec chuckled and drank his beer. "Such as?"

"Such as some of the girls being head over heels over you and you don't even seem to notice it."

"I do," he said slowly. "But the people want a competition, and that's what I'm giving them. Trust me when I tell you I could have ended this Selection weeks ago."

Chris frowned. "But you never show anything."

The Prince grinned slyly. "I know that, too. It would be too easy, right?"

Grayson and Chris rolled their eyes and drank their beer. Alec liked to be secretive and mysterious. And he wanted to keep it that way, like he always was. Besides, he hated to have his personal life exposed to the people, and he wanted to wait until the latest moment to tell them his choice.

* * *

 _ **Hiiiiii!**_

 _ **so here's another chapter for you guys!**_ (yay, I have wifi on vacation^^) _ **Half the families have been introduced, and the second half will be introduced next chapter. I hope you liked this chapter!**_

 _ **I wanted to thank you all for your reviews along the way! your kindness and your feedback are really appreciated! thank you so very much!**_

 _ **I'll see you soon with a new chapter in a few days ;) byyyeeee!**_


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

The next morning, Alec woke up with a mighty headache. He grumbled when the sun rays blinded him, and he pulled the covers over his head. How he and the two other boys got back on their bikes after all those beers and pizzas was a miracle. He had no recollection of the trip back, and it was a good thing.

Joel Li, his personal valet, was already getting his stuff ready for the day, laying his outfit on the chair. Alec pressed on the Intercom button next to his bed.

"Good morning, Your Highness." Dr. Marshall said. "The usual?"

"Yeah, thanks," Alec replied, his tongue like sand on his palate.

"Right away," Dr. Marshall said. A couple minutes later, a bottle and a pill in a little plastic cup appeared in the Vacuum Box. Alex took the pill and downed it with water.

"The shower is ready, Your Highness," Li said.

"Thanks," the Prince mumbled. He kicked away his covers and dragged his feet to the bathroom. But when he saw the shower had been adjusted to hot, he sighed. "17 degrees," he ordered. When he had a hangover, he knew a cold shower was one of the things that helped. Especially since he had to meet all the families of his Selected.

He thought back on his conversation with Chris and Grayson, and he had told them only a half truth. He did have a girl in mind. But not only one. It was like three or four. He knew that meeting the families would help him make his choice. How? He didn't know, yet.

After ten minutes under the cold water pouring down on his head, he cleaned up and finished the shower. Once out, he took his plushy bathrobe and walked out into his room, where Li was patiently waiting for him. He had already made the bed. He helped the Prince get dressed in an elegant all gray modern suit, without any tie or bowtie. He didn't want to be too formal, nor too casual, but a perfect in between.

"My mom chose the outfit?" Alec asked when he saw it.

"I'm afraid, yes," Li said. "You know she likes to control a lot of things."

Alec let out a dry chuckled. "I'm afraid you're right about that," he said, thinking of his conversation about a possible brain quant with Chris and Grayson. He dried himself and put on the suit. Then, he sat as his own vanity table – though he didn't like to call it this way: it was his _grooming table_ – and put his hands on the armrests of the chair. "Hair Dry," he ordered, and a pulse of electricity coursed through his fingers to his hair, drying them instantly and taking out the knots and combing them out without effort. He then took a small elastic band and tied them in a messy bun at the back of his head.

"Okay," he said, taking a deep breath. "Wish me luck, Li."

Li smiled. "Good luck, Alec."

Both men nodded and Alec walked out of his room, where he met Austin.

"Hey, bro," Alec said. "I practically haven't seen you since we came back from the cruise. Where were you?"

Austin grinned. "I went with Cheska to visit her family in Carolina for a few days," he said. "I wanted to do things by the book."

"Oh shit," Alec said, raising his eyebrows to his hair line. "You asked her father her hand?"

"Yep," Austin said proudly. "But we're keeping it secret until you finish the Selection. We don't want to take the spotlight from you."

Alec chuckled. "You're serious? You're gonna marry her?"

"Yeah," his little brother said. "Who knew I would be the first one to find love, right?"

Both brothers laughed.

"So where is she, now?" Alec asked.

"Home, with her parents. She wanted to spend some time with them before we officialized everything. And like this, it's just you and your Elite, and there's nothing coming in between."

"Except the families," Alec said bitterly. "How the hell do you deal with eight girlfriends and their families?"

Austin laughed. "I have no idea, I dealt with only one, recently."

The royal brothers walked to the Vacuum that would lead them to the roof, where the brunch buffet had been set. He wiped his sweaty hands on his pants and tried to loosen his collar.

"Relax, man," Austin said. "I bet they're all even more nervous than you to meet you."

"Maybe," Alec conceded. "But still."

Austin squeezed Alec's shoulder in sympathy and they both stepped out of the Vacuum.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Avonlea said in her elegant and sexy mauve dress with a top of black see-through lace. "Prince Alec and prince Austin." Everyone turned around to see them coming out. They were the last to arrive.

"Good morning," Alec said as Austin stepped aside to join Alistair and Chris. "I'm sorry I couldn't be with you yesterday when you arrived, but here I am, more than ever ready to meet you all," he lied. _You're never ready for this kind of thing,_ he thought. He took a glass of Champagne from a tray an Android was handing him and toasted to everyone. "May we find love and happiness wherever we're meant to be," he said, and the others repeated the same words and drank. After that, the people were free to fill plates of food and wander around the roof to talk to different people. There were some tables with chairs, but no seating plan, and they could change seats if so they desired.

Alec's stomach was a bundle of knots and he couldn't eat anything. So he went from group to group to meet with the parents and brothers and sisters of his Elite.

First, he headed towards Addison's family.

"Mr. and Mrs. Porter?" Alec said, coming in their little circle.

"Your Highness," Addison's mother said, curtsying. "Actually it's Bradley, since I remarried."

"Oh," Alec said, mentally kicking himself for the mistake. "I'm sorry."

"No problem, Your Highness," Charles Bradley said, offering his hand to the Prince, who shook it without hesitation. "Addison, Daniel, and Amelia kept their father's name after I married Olivia," he explained. "You couldn't have known."

"Thank you, sir," Alec said. "I hope your reunion with Addison went well yesterday."

"Oh, yeah," Daniel, her twin brother, said. "I see you didn't destroy her," he added, half seriously, half joking.

"Danny, don't," Addison said, reprimanding her brother.

"It's okay, Addie," Alec said with a smile. "I know how to defend myself." He turned to Daniel. "Addison told me a lot about you and how you were protective over her. I admire that. I wish I could have done more for my sister in the past."

Addison smiled at Alec. "She's a big girl, Alec, and she knows how to defend herself, now."

"Yeah, I know. But still. Anyway," he said to the Porter-Bradley family. "Addison, didn't you have a little sister, too?"

"Oh, yes," the Elite said. "She's over there, trying the macarons."

"She looks just like you, but blonde," Alec said. "If you'll excuse me, I have other people to meet." He took Addison's hand and kissed it, winked at her and walked away.

The next Elite he encountered on his way was Jessica's. She was talking excitedly with a young lady who seemed to be her sister, along with her parents.

"Jessica?" Alec said, coming over.

"Oh, hey," she said. "Alec, this is my little sister Melissa, or Mel, and my parents Jack and Amira Harris."

"Mr. and Mrs. Harris," Alec said, shaking their hands, "it's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance. I hope you've found everything to your liking?"

"Oh, my God," Mrs. Harris said. "Everything is so perfect! I can't believe you live like this all the time!"

Alec chuckled nervously, suddenly remembering that Jessica was the last Five of the Selection. Of course, her family would be easily impressed by the Palace and the food. "Yeah, but trust me, it's not always this fun," he said, showing the stand-up brunch. "Most of the time it's just meetings, and Council Members reminding you your responsibilities."

Jack Harris chuckled. "I can imagine that."

"I don't remember seeing anything on Jessica's form on what you did for a living?" Alec asked Mr. Harris.

"I'm an artist," he said. "I design eyes and hair for people."

"Eyes and hair?"

"Yes. Some people want to change their eye color into something more exotic, say purple or orange, and they want their hair to match. We change people's hair DNA thank to bio-tech, so they have the perfect color. So once the hair grows, it always grows this color."

Alec raised an eyebrow. "And then once you choose pink hair, you have to deal with that until the end of your life?"

"Oh no," Amira Harris said. "Once the bio-tech has been used once, it's easy to change the color as many times as you want!" she continued excitedly.

"You're also an eye and hair artist?" Alec asked.

"Inktat Artist, actually," she replied. "You've heard of those, right?"

Alec chuckled. "Yes," he said and looked around him. "I even have one of my own," he whispered slyly.

"Ooh," Amira said. "What is it?"

"A flying eagle," Jessica said. "When you touch it, it moves."

Amira grinned. "The best kind," she replied.

Alec chuckled. "It was a pleasure meeting you. Now if you'll excuse me, I have more people to see."

"Of course," Jack and Amira said at the same time, bowing and curtsying.

Alec continued his way and found Danielle talking with her parents, Lana and Ethan Haynes.

"Danielle," he said, coming over, and the girl turned around, blushing.

"Alec," she said. "These are my parents."

"A pleasure to meet you," Alec said, offering his hand to Ethan Haynes. _How many time will I be saying that, today?_

"Oh, Prince Alec," Lana said. "It's such a pleasure to meet you!"

"Thank you," Alec said. "By the way, Danielle looks just like you."

"Oh no," Lana said. "She looks more like her father." Lana smiled, looking at her daughter and her husband in turn. But Danielle did look a lot like her mother, except Lana had smaller eyes and somewhat a longer face. Taking a quick look at her father, Alec found that Danielle looked a lot like him, too, with the same eyes and mouth.

"So," Ethan said. "How's Danielle been doing here? Is she behaving?"

Danielle rolled her eyes, clearly embarrassed by her father's comment.

Alec noticed and chuckled. "Of course, she is. Danielle has great potential."

"I am very glad to hear that," Lana said. "Danielle, we're so proud of you!"

Just then, Quinn arrived with her own parents.

"Hey Danielle," Quinn said, looping her arm in Danielle's. "You want to go get a drink or something?"

"Yeah," Danielle said, following her friend, and leaving their parents to talk. Alec took it as his cue to leave and go see Katia who wasn't far.

"Katia, you're in the Elite," he mother said as Alec approached from behind. "For God's sake, stand up straight!"

"Mrs. Mercer," Alec said, coming around. "It's a pleasure to meet you." He offered his hand for her to shake.

"Prince Alec!" Katia's mother exclaimed. "It's such an honor to meet you. I'm Hazel Mercer, and this is her father, Lawrence Mercer," she continued. "This is Kalib, her twin brother, and her older sister should be around here somewhere," she said, looking around.

Alec nodded to everyone in turn, shaking hands.

"Thank you so much for keeping our Katia happy and safe," Hazel said.

"Yes, thank you for all you've done," her father added.

Alec chuckled. "It's a pleasure to have Katia with us." He turned to Kalib. "Your sister must have missed you, I suppose."

"Yeah," Kalib said. He had the same brown eyes and big blue eyes as Katia, but his face was obviously masculine. "I trust that you are looking out for my sister."

"I am," Alec said. "And she also looks out for me." He looked at Katia with a smile.

"Oh, Kayleigh's over there," Hazel said. "It's Katia's older sister," she explained to the Prince. She waved her daughter over, and Kayleigh arrived with a tall man that looked familiar to Alec, but he couldn't place him at all.

"Liam Paxton," the young man said. "Kayleigh's husband. Nice to meet you."

Alec shook his hand. "Have we met before?" Alec said. Both young men were the same age.

"I don't think so," Liam said. "Unless you played in your College Basketball team."

The Prince chuckled. "No, I didn't, but I remember when Angeles beat Columbia, and you must have been there," he said. "I'm not a very people person, but I have a good face memory."

Liam chuckled. "I didn't know we played in front of the Prince and lost. My wife, Kayleigh," he said, presenting her.

Alec took her hand in his and kissed the back.

"Y-your Highness," she stammered emotionally. "It's nice to meet you."

"The pleasure's mine, Mrs. Paxton," he said. He also noticed she had a slight bump on her belly, but deemed it unpolite to ask her about it. He would ask Katia later if her sister was pregnant.

"We are so proud of our daughter," Lawrence said, earning a huge smile from Katia, since they never told her in her life that they were proud of her. "This is huge for us." With that, Katia's smile disappeared. Of course, she wouldn't be in the center of their conversation. Only _they_ were the center of themselves.

Kayleigh knew how she felt, and quickly squeezed her little sister's hand. She pulled her to the side. "Look at you, Kade! Do you remember when we would play dress up, as little girls Look at you now. You're so beautiful!"

Katia offered her older sister a smile and hugged her. "Thanks."

"So," Kayleigh said. "Anything between you and the Prince?"

Katia chuckled. "I don't know. We're really great friends and we've spent some awesome moments together. But I'm not sure they're anything."

"Oh," Kayleigh said, a little disappointed. "Maybe he's just not the one for you, right?"

"Maybe," Katia conceded. "But there are other guys," she said slyly.

"Oh my God, Kade. Who are you talking about?"

"I don't want to tell you anything, yet," Katia said, "in case nothing happens. I don't want you to be disappointed or anything..."

"Wait, wait, wait," her sister said, holding Katia by the shoulders and looking in her blue eyes. "Austin is already taken. From what I gathered, Christopher found Callisto." She paused, frowning. "Who else is there."

Katia looked around, making sure no one was listening. "Grayson O'Hayre," she whispered.

Kayleigh's jaw dropped. "You can't be serious," she said with a grin.

Katia nodded quickly. "But please don't say a word. I don't know if anything's going to happen between us."

"Does he know you like him?"

She shrugged. "Not sure. Ever since he came here, he's spent some time with several of us… it's like a tiny Selection within The Selection."

Kayleigh laughed. "Oh, my God. This is too much. Don't tell anything to mom."

"Not a chance," Katia replied just as Liam joined them with drinks.

-x-

Later that day, Addison met with her step-father for their traditional father-daughter tea-time. They had some catching up to do. She walked with Avonlea to the room set aside for them, since she didn't know where it was. Charles Bradley was waiting for her in front of a lounge room door.

Avonlea winked at her friend and quickly walked away to leave Addison alone with her father.

"Who's your friend?" Charles asked when Addison had joined him.

"That's Princess Avonlea, Charles. Didn't you recognize her?"

Charles chuckled. "I can recognize her standing next to her family on the Report. But not out of context."

Addison laughed as they sat down at the delicate table the maids had set up for them. There were three different kinds of teas, and a tray with various kinds of pastries. Both eyed them with much interest. Charles served some tea to Addison, and then to himself, too.

"So, how has been life at the Palace, without me?" he asked, a sparkle in his brown eyes.

"Well, it's sad that you're not always here," she said, feigning a sad, puppy face. "However, it's amazing. You know, Alec took us all on a boat, and we went stargazing!" She was grinning as she remembered her time with the Prince. "I wanted to sleep under the stars, so he organized it for just the two of us. The night sky was so beautiful!"

Charles smiled but raised an inquiring eyebrow. "I hope he treats you right. Your brother's usually here to ward off boys…" he trailed off.

Addison nodded and laughed when Charles fake sword placed with the air. "He's aware of my boundaries, Charles. And Danny won't leave my side unless I'm with you, mom, Amy or Avonlea."

Both chuckled and continued to talk and exchange stories about their time apart. When they were done, a maid came to clean up the plates and teacups, and Charles and Addison walked back to the Women's Room, who had now been temporarily converted to the _Families' Room_.

When they came in, Addison joined her friends and their protective brothers and curious sisters for those who had siblings.

Alec, Austin, Chris, Alistair, and Grayson were far away in a VR game, spending the afternoon together, so that the families could get to know each other without the Royals always looking at them in everything they did. Alec knew this was the last afternoon like this he would have, because after that, he would continue to date the girls… with their parents behind his back! And he wasn't really looking forward to that…

* * *

 _ **Heyyy! so here's another chapter for you, and I hope you enjoyed it! ;)**_

 _ **Quick request/question: if you have any idea for a "first" date as an Elite with the families around **_(with or without the families!) _ **, please send in your ideas via PM! :) that would be great! otherwise i'll just make up something^^ but if you have something you really want to see, just ask! any ideas/suggestions are welcome ;)**_

 _ **thanks for all your reviews and for sending in your family information, they were and will be very useful! :)**_

 _ **see you soon for chapter 37!**_


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**

Alec tried to push away as much as he could the 'first dates' with the Elites. Having this own family on his back all the time was one thing: he could deal with them, or the Press… But the Elite's families? It was entirely different. What if he did or said something wrong, and the wrath of the protective brothers and fathers descended upon him? Alec felt a chill run down his spine. He needed to get out of here and take a ride.

But as he thought about it, he grinned. There was someone he needed to take with him. He located her on his Contacts and followed the directions to her room. _Please let her be alone. Please let her be alone…_ he silently prayed. He didn't want to face her family, just yet.

He stopped in front of her door and froze just before his knuckles touched the door. Of course. There was another voice with hers. Her brother's. Alec rolled his eyes, but squared his shoulders and knocked.

"Alec?" Eryn said with a grin when she opened the door. "What are you doing here?"

The Prince chuckled as Ezra, her twin, came up behind her. "I, um…" he took the big helmet from behind his back. "You owe me a return match," he said slyly.

Eryn grinned. "Yep, I do. Now?"

"I was hoping…" Alec trailed off.

"No way," Ezra said. "You're not going on a motor bike."

"Why not?" Eryn said, crossing her arms. "You're not my dad, remember?"

"No, I'm your brother, your other half, and this is too dangerous."

Alec raised an eyebrow, amused. "You do realize, Ezra, that the moment Eryn marries me- I mean when she married someone, you won't be her other half anymore, right?"

Ezra opened his mouth to say something but he was cut short by Eryn's loud laugh.

"So you better start getting used to it," Alec finished. "Shall we?" he asked Eryn, offering her his arm.

"With pleasure, Your Highness," she replied, maliciously. "See you later, alligator," she said to Ezra, who was left alone in her room, gaping in horror as the Prince whisked his beloved sister away.

"Oh my God," Eryn said when they were in the Vacuum. "I've never seen my brother speechless like that. How did you do that?"

"Well, maybe he didn't want to be rude to the Prince?"

She laughed. "I don't think he would care about that," he replied. "But… what you said, about me marrying…" she trailed off, not wanting to say it out loud for fear of it being true, or entirely not true.

Alec smiled and silently pushed a stray strand of hair behind her hair. "What about it?"

Eryn's cheeks started burning, but just then the doors to the Vacuum opened and they stepped out of the elevator into the giant Hangar.

"Take your pick," Alec said.

Eryn chuckled, embarrassed. "I've never ridden a bike like that before."

"It's just like jet ski," Alec said, "only on dry land. I know just a place for you to practice."

"Okay. Um, which one's the easiest to ride?"

The Prince chuckled and went to the other side of the Hangar, Eryn following close behind. "This one."

Eryn raised an eyebrow. "Okay, if you say so."

"But first, you need to wear this," he said, handing her a black Nano-Tech leather suit. "You can change in the office, over there."

Eryn took the suit and went to the office to change. Alec changed in the Hangar in his own suit and was zipping it to his neck when she joined him.

"What a sexy pair we are," she said sarcastically. "I feel like Catwoman."

"You _look_ like Catwoman."

"Shut up," she said, pushing him playfully. "If I'm Catwoman, then you are Batman."

"I'm fine with that," he said, pulling her close to him and kissing her cheek. "Now, get on the bike. There are a few things I need to show you before we leave."

Eryn obeyed and Alec told her everything there was to know of the bike. She was staring at him. "Hey, are you even listening to me?" he said. "What did I just say?"

"You asked me if I was listening," she said with a sly grin.

Alec rolled his eyes. "Eryn, this is important. We're going to go on the road, and falling on the hard ground is different than falling in the water."

Eryn snorted. "Clearly you've never fallen at 70 km/h on the water. It's like landing on ice. So, yes, I know how it's like. And yes, I have been listening."

Alec sighed. "Fine. Make it start," he ordered. Eryn managed to make the bike start after a few tries. "Good," Alec said. "Now you see that door over there? Ride through there and wait for me."

Eryn nodded and slowly drove around the other bikes towards the door and waited for Alec who joined her a couple minutes later with his own bike. "This is the training field," he said. "But when we're finished here and you know how to drive it, we can go outside." He didn't want to put her in any danger once outside. Riding a bike was risky and dangerous when you didn't know how to properly do it. For two hours, Alec taught Eryn how to ride. It normally took a whole day for a person to learn, but Eryn caught on quickly.

"You've got that in your blood," Alec said. "I've never seen someone learn so fast. But you're ready to go outside."

Eryn grinned. "Finally!"

"Just one moment," he said. "I just need to get something. I'll be right back." He half ran, half walked to the Vacuum. Next to it was a Vacuum Box, just like the one in his room. He pressed the Intercom to the Kitchen.

"Yes?"

"Mr. Blythe," Alec said. "Do you have what I asked you for earlier?"

"Yes, ready to be sent," the cook said. "Sending it right away. The hangar?"

"Yes, thank you." A minute later, a black bag appeared in the box and Alec carried it back to his bike, where Eryn was waiting for him. He divided the contents in his two saddle bags and they both put on their helmets.

"Ready?" he asked, his voice resonating in her own helmet.

"Wow, is there a mike, in here?"

"Yeah," Alec said. "Our helmets are linked so we can talk while on the road." He climbed on his own bike. "Follow me, okay? I'll try not to go too fast. But we shouldn't be encountering others on the road. Most transports are HovoTransports, around here.

"Okay," she said.

They rode for thirty minutes, and both Eryn and Alec didn't talk during that ride, only when necessary – "we're gonna turn left if a few minutes" or "we're gonna be out of the 'Dome, soon" – because they were both enjoying the ride. At some point, when they arrived at the top of some cliffs, Alec stopped his bike and dismounted. He put his helmet on the Harley and ran his fingers through his long hair to untangle them after the helmet.

"You know, I'm kind of jealous," Eryn said coming behind him.

"Jealous of what?"

"Your hair." They both laughed. "Seriously. You have better hair than me!"

Alec shook his head. "That's not true. You have lovely hair, Eryn. Soft, brown like chocolate, and wavy like grass in the wind."

Eryn rolled her eyes to fight the blush creeping up her cheeks. "Whatever," she said.

Alec chuckled. "You're hungry?"

"Yeah, kinda."

"Good." Alec went back to his bike and took the picnic from his saddle bags. "I asked the cook to prepare some lunch for us," he said. "Hope you like sandwiches?"

She laughed. "Everyone loves sandwiches, Alec." She quickly tied her hair up in a messy ponytail because of the wind.

"I never noticed your bee Inktat," Alec said, tracing the little bee behind her left ear. "It's an inanimate Inktat."

Eryn smiled shyly. "Yeah, well. A real animated Inktat was way too expensive. And I always managed to keep my hair down or something."

"Why?"

She shrugged. "I was afraid a tattooed Selected wouldn't be chosen as Empress," she said softly, not looking at him.

"You think a tattooed Prince would make a good Emperor, then?"

She looked up at him. "You have an Inktat? Where? What is it?"

Alec took off the sleeves of his suit and rolled up his t-shirt sleeve underneath. "An eagle. Touch it," he said, and Eryn obeyed. She lightly touched his skin and the eagle came to life, slowly flapping his mighty wings. Eryn stared at the eagle in awe.

"How come I never saw it when we were on the boat?"

Alec chuckled, and gave her a sandwich. "Because I used a special Bio-Tech creme to hide it. I didn't want my mother and the Press to see it in the feeds I sent back."

"Wait. Your mother doesn't know?"

"No, I don't think so," he said, thinking back to the possible brain quant she had. After that, they ate in silence, breathing in the salty Ocean air and listening to the waves crashing on the rocks below them. They were comfortable together, not forced to talk or fill the silence.

"Did you know that these cliffs where not always here?" Alec suddenly said, looking at the horizon.

"Really?"

"600 years ago, this was one of the most populated beaches of Angeles. But during the Dark Years, there was a huge earth quake and the ocean floor dropped down a hundred meters. And the lapping of the waves hasn't helped."

"Wow," Eryn said. "So we would be having our feet in the water, right here?"

"Yep. Crazy, huh?"

"Yeah. Well not that much. Where I live, there were tons and tons of ice and snow. Now it's a beach resort. The water is still a bit chilly, but people like to come there because It's not as hot as in the south."

They talked some more of the changes they knew about and then Alec said it was time for their return match. They rode back and forth on the cliffs, making speed races. Alec then took her to an old lacey road in the mountains, and they drove to the top, where they had a whole view of the city under the PlexiDome, the Ocean, and the sky above them.

"It's so much better to be out of the 'Dome," Eryn said. "Why are the 'Domes still up since the air is free of radiation, now?"

"Good question," Alec said, wrapping his arms around Eryn from behind. "I guess people don't like change. They've been living with Ad's and a controlled weather for a couple centuries. I'm not sure they would want to end that."

"Maybe you're right," Eryn said, snuggling against him. "But maybe one 'Dome at a time. You could give Illéa its former glory, instead of looking like a giant pimpled face."

Alec barked out a laugh. "I'll think about it," he said. They looked at the view for a few more moments, until it was time to go back. But Alec didn't want to go back. He felt good, here, with Eryn. If only he didn't have to be Emperor. He could do that every day. He could even buy a house on the cliffs and stay away from the Palace. But of course, he couldn't.

Before Alec let go of Eryn and told her they needed to head back home, she turned around in his arms, her face inches from his. They stared in each other's blue eyes. Alec's heart stopped the moment she pressed her lips against his and kissed him. He kissed her back. But then she broke the kiss.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that," she said talking a step back.

Alec quickly took her hands and pulled her to him. "No, you definitely should have done that," he said, and then kissed her again. "Don't ever apologize for something like that," he continued, kissing her again.

-x-

The next day, after lunch, Alec went to the roof to get a whole bunch of pink roses. He went back to his room and put them all in a vase, but one. He took that single rose and headed to one of the Elite, a grin on his face. He knocked on her door and she opened a few seconds later.

"Alec!" Korina exclaimed with a smile. "What are you doing here?" she asked just as her mother, Lealone Kirk, came up behind her.

"Good afternoon, Korina. Mrs. Kirk," he added in his dashing smile. "Do you mind if I borrow your daughter for a little while?"

Lealone nodded. "Of course, Your Highness."

"Please call me Alec," he said. He then showed Korina the rose he was hiding behind his back. "For you, Mylady," he said.

Korina blushed and took the rose. "Thanks," she said shyly.

"I'll go look for a vase," her mother said. "Go ahead," she added, smiling to her daughter.

Alec and Korina both went to the third floor with the Vacuum.

"What are we doing on the gaming level?" Korina asked. "Are we going to play a VR game?"

"Nope," he said. "Something a little bit older," he answered mysteriously. "Come on." He took her hand and led her to a small room where there was a wall full of shelves containing board games. "My grand-father and his father before him have been collecting old board games over the years. They would look up in old shops or antique shops. It's been years since we haven't bought any new game."

"What's your favorite?" Korina asked, looking at all those boxes.

"This one," he said, talking a small blue box. "We used to play for hours with my brother. It's called BattleShip."

Korina raised an eyebrow. "You know there is a VR game with the same name, right? Why do we play an old board game, then?"

"Because what would be the fun in it? Don't you want to try something new?"

Korina chuckled. "Okay. Let's do this, then."

Alec explained the game, and they played a round. When it was done, he didn't ask for a rematch, but instead, walked her back to her room. Her mother wasn't there, and it was good, or she would have thought he was crazy. Because five minutes later, Alec knocked on her door again.

"Alec?" Korina said. "Did you forget something?"

Alec chuckled and gave her a second pink rose. "Can I borrow you for a little while?"

"Uh… sure," she said taking the rose and putting it in the vase her mother had found.

"Excellent," Alec said. They went to the Vacuum and down to the third floor, again. And again, Alec went to that same room with the wall covered in board games.

"My favorite one is this one," he said, taking the blue box, and trying not to laugh. "It's called BattleShip. I used to play with Austin when we were kids. You wanna play?"

Korina raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Uh… yeah?"

"Good." He opened the game and explained the rules again; and again, they played, together.

"I won this time," Korina said.

"What do you mean, 'this time'?" Alec said. "We only played this once."

This time, Korina was really confused. "No, I- We played like an hour ago."

"Maybe I should bring you back to your room. You don't seem to feel well. Come on." He put the game away and walked her back to her room. Korina was still confused. When he came back five minutes later, again with a pink rose to offer her, she crossed her arms.

"Alec, this is not funny, anymore. What are you playing at?"

At this point, Alec couldn't stay serious anymore and burst out laughing. He showed her the whole rose bouquet he was hiding behind his back. "Have you heard about the HoloVid _Groundhog Day?_ It came out a few years ago…"

Korina rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Of course, I did. Who didn't see it." She laughed again, taking the whole bouquet.

"I was wondering if I could borrow you for a couple hours?"

Korina sighed and smiled slyly. "Of course," she said. "Where are we going?"

"Level Three."

"Oh come on," she said. "I'm not playing a third game of BattleShip."

Alec shook his head. "Nah, me neither. But trust me." He offered her his hand.

"Fine," she replied, taking it, and off they went again, to the third floor. But this time, instead of going to a game room, Alec opened the room to the HoloCinema and ordered cold drinks and popcorn. They spent the afternoon watching _Groundhog Day_ , and laughing at how silly it was, and how silly Alec had been.

After walking her back to her room, he saw her mother gazing out a window in a corridor. When she heard steps behind her, she turned around and saw the Prince.

"Your Highness," she said, curtsying. "I hope you spent a good afternoon with Korina."

"I did. Thank you for letting me borrow her."

Lealone smiled. "I must thank you for keeping my daughter for as long as you have," she said. "Though I'm not surprised. My dear Korina is beautiful, intelligent and caring…" she trailed off. Alec as about to say how true this all was, when she continued. "But you must understand. I love my daughter dearly. So much so that I made her into something that she hated. I haven't seen her this happy in a while." She paused just long enough to breath, not letting Alec say anything. "This is why it pains me to say this, but you must eliminate her. She isn't the best choice for an Empress. She can't be what people need and if her secret is revealed to the public, you will have a scandal on your hands."

"Mrs. Kirk," Alec said, trying to conceal the coldness in his voice. "Thank you for your concern about your daughter and for sharing it with me. I assure you she is in good hands, and it is my choice, and mine alone to eliminate her or not. And let me assure you, too, that if she does become my wife, I will do everything in my power to give her her own body back." Alec gritted his teeth. "Good afternoon," he said and walked away to his own room.

Who was she to tell him what he had to do? It would be something Korina and him would decide if it went that far. And certainly not her mother.

He went to the window and saw a couple talking on the ninth-floor terrace, outside. Grayson and Thalia seemed to be having a good time. But he hadn't kept Thalia for Grayson. What was he doing? Had Alec seen something else? He thought Katia was the one for Grayson, not Thalia? Because Thalia also had a place in his heart.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, thinking of something to do about this, but he didn't know what, yet.

* * *

 _ **Heeyyy! thanks for your reviews and for reading this chapter! the story just passed 92.5K words, and wow! and wouldn't have gotten this far with you guys!**_

 _ **thanks also to Sylva and Chilly Ice for these "first date" as Elite ideas ;) if you have ideas for your girls, too, just send them in vis PM! thanks to those who already did it ;)**_

 _ **And I would have another question for the 8 remaining authors: The Elite will have to present a project on a report, a Project that would show what kind of Empress they would be... And maybe something to sway Alec? If you have an idea, please send it in**_ (you can use the PM where you sent your character) _ **! thanks!**_

 _ **I hope you liked these 2 dates, and that more mysteries are on the way^^ See you soon!**_


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38**

"You can't even land a bloody Prince!" Hazel Mercer was screaming at her daughter. "What is wrong with you! You have everything to do the job correctly, Katia," she continued, pacing in the room. "You're the most beautiful girl of this Selection. What are you doing wrong?!"

"Nothing!" Katia cried back. "It's not my fault you scared him away!"

"Don't you dare," Hazel said, picking up a vase from the chest of drawers, full of flowers, and threw it to Katia, who ducked just in time. It came crashing against the wall, although a piece of the china fell on her arm, making her bleed on the white plush carpet.

"You're the worst mom!" Katia said, tears streaming down her cheeks. She ran out of the room towards the Vacuum and ordered the roof. There, she sat against the greenhouse, and let the tears flow. She forgot about her cut in her arm, which left a red trail down her organza sleeve. Katia rested her head on the greenhouse wall and looked at the stars on the 'Dome. How she wished she could be out on the ocean to see the real stars.

The tears couldn't seem to stop flowing down her face. Thank goodness no one was there to see her. How humiliating it would be! She hoped Alec wouldn't keep the families here for too long. She already couldn't stand to have her mother right here with her.

Katia took a deep breath and let it out slowly, a little bit shakily. She felt something warm and wet trail between her fingers, and when she looked she was surprised to see blood there.

"Damnit," she said.

"Everything okay?" someone said behind her.

She turned around, and there was Grayson, his lopsided smile on his handsome face, although there was worry in his eyes. "Grayson? What are you doing here?" she asked, very self-conscious about her red puffy eyes and cheeks, and wiping away her tears.

"I was heading to my own room when I heard people shouting and something break. And then I saw you ran off to the Vacuum..." he trailed off. "I thought I'd give you a few minutes alone to compose yourself." He sighed and searched her eyes. "Are you okay?"

Katia shrugged. "Not really. I mean, it's as good as it gets when your mother throws a vase at your face," she said, trying to joke, but it came out all wrong and she started crying again. "I'm sorry," she said. "I just-"

"Hey, hey, hey," Grayson said, coming closer to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "It's gonna be okay, okay?"

Katia let out a small noise between a sob and a chuckle. Grayson touched her injured arm and look at his hand.

"Kade, you're bleeding," he said, turning her around so he could see what she had.

"It's nothing," Katia said. "It's just a scratch."

"But you're bleeding!"

She tried a smile for his sake. "I'm fine." Again, she tried to take a deep breath, but it was pretty shaky.

"What was the argument about?" Grayson finally asked. "What was worth breaking a vase on her head?"

Katia stared at the rooftops of the city and the twinkling stars on the 'Dome. "She was upset because I couldn't 'land a Prince', as she put it. She said I had everything to do the job, but apparently, I wasn't good enough."

"Says who?" Grayson said. "The Selection is not over, yet. And you're an Elite."

"Seriously, Gray?" she said. "Do you really think I'm in love with Alec?"

"Aren't you?" he asked cautiously. "I thought all the ladies left in the Elite were."

Katia snorted. "No."

"So who do you love?" he asked casually, hoping to hear what he wanted to hear.

Katia looked down at her hands and didn't answer right away. "No one," she lied. "I'm not really into love," she said. But a bright blush creeped up her cheeks and she couldn't look at Grayson, which he found cute. He grinned.

"Is that so? Then what are you doing in the Prince's Selection?"

"My brother convinced me to do it."

Grayson chuckled. "And why on earth would he do that? From what I've seen, he's behind you at all times, making sure no guy comes close to you."

Katia looked away at the night sky again. "He wanted me to get over my fear," she said just above a whisper.

"What are you afraid of, Kade?" he asked gently, taking her hand in his.

She looked at their hands as he intertwined his fingers with hers. "This," she said, quickly taking away her hand.

Grayson frowned. "What do you mean? You're afraid of me?"

"No, not you," she said, shaking her hand. "Falling in..." she trailed off. "All this," she finished, waving at the air.

He grinned his lopsided grin. "Falling in love?"

"And all that goes with it," she added quickly. "Look, the only person who knows about this is Kalib. I've never talked about this to anyone."

"I'm glad you told me," he said. "But you have to know one thing: I would never hurt you or make you do things you don't want." He paused. "May I kiss you?"

Katia took a sharp breath and blushed, her blue doe eyes wide like saucers. "Um... Maybe some other time?" she managed to say. Having him wrap his arm around her shoulders and holding his hand was already a lot for one day.

Grayson nodded. "Okay. Let me take you to Dr. Marshall to see to you cut," he said standing up and offering her his hand. She took it hesitantly, and then they walked back to the Vacuum and to the Hospital Wing.

-x-

The next day, while the Parents were on a tour of the City of Angeles, Avonlea was talking to the eight remaining ladies.

"So," she said as it was almost the end of their lesson and the morning, and all their bellies were grumbling. "Now that you are an Elite, homework will be more and more what an Empress will be doing. Each one of you will have to present to the whole country a personal project, something that means a lot to you."

"Like what?" Danielle asked.

Avonlea shrugged. "Something that can help the country, the people, or the Monarchy," she said. "It has to come from here," she added, placing a hand on her heart, "and the One who will become the next Empress will have to put her project into action. It will be her first mission." At everyone's startled face, she smiled. "And if one or another of your projects interest the Emperor and his council, you may be called back to carry it out, too."

"It can be anything?" Jessica asked.

"Yes. But it has to be something helpful and serious. You can't just give everyone Inktats," Avonlea said, and all the girls laughed.

"Unless it's for the good cause," Jessica said sarcastically, pushing her hair back.

Avonlea rolled her eyes. "We'll see about that."

"And how much time do we have to do this thing?" Thalia asked.

"You have two weeks. You'll be presenting your projects on the Report after the next one."

-x-

The same evening, Avonlea had organized a small soirée in the Family Room for everyone, so parents, siblings and Selected could interact. Of course, Alec and the other royals and royal friends were there too. Avonlea had insisted on a dress code – white with a touch of a different color for each family – and all the guests had played along. The people ate from trays hovering around them, from little hors-d'oeuvre, to some amuse-bouche and canapés. Champagne and red wine were passed around as well.

Even Theodore and Beatrix honored everyone with their presence for an hour or two. Alec, Chris and Grayson took turns watching the Empress to try to see if she did have a brain quant in her head. But it was impossible to really know. Unless Petra was still here. She did hear two voices in Calliope's brother's mind. But it would be awkward to just make her come to listen to Beatrix's thoughts. And by the way, she might already be in England, getting to know her future family-in-law.

The evening went on without any too big incident, but at least Alec could see the families all together and how they interacted together, too, which was interesting...

Katia's parents seemed to be talking only about themselves or their jobs, and Alec noticed how Katia stayed away from them as much as possible. Her brother Kalib stayed closed, though.

It was pretty much the same with Thalia's parents. They were drawn to Theodore and Beatrix and couldn't stop talking about their Nano-Medic Clinic to them. He could clearly see that his parents were not interested in that, although they tried not to show it. Thalia stayed a lot with Danielle and Katia and her brother, and Quinn joined them a little later.

Eryn's family seemed like a really nice family, talking to everyone, genuinely smiling and curious about everyone. Eryn's mother was deep in conversation with Korina's mother, but Alec couldn't hear what they were saying.

Jessica's parents talked a lot with Addison's parents, although he couldn't comprehend how they could get along. Maybe the Bradley-Porter family was just being polite. Clearly Jessica didn't belong here. He thought about sending her home the moment he would send the families home. She was nice, but that was all. She didn't strike him as the best Empress, either. Why he had kept her this long, he had no idea. Maybe it was because of their little midnight bath on their vacation trip. But other than that, there was nothing between them.

"So," Quinn said, sitting next to him on the couch, handing him a glass of red wine. "Lost in thought again?" She chuckled lightly and made herself comfortable, kicking her shoes off and pulling up her feet under herself. "Pinot Noir, by the way," she added, nodding at the glass in his hand.

"Oh, thanks," he said. "Where is everyone?" he asked, looking around. They were the two last ones in the Family Room.

"Off to bed, I suppose," she replied. "You really were lost in thought, weren't you?"

Alec chuckled and took a sip of his wine. "Yeah. It happens sometimes when I have an overdose of people. I kind of shut off for a moment."

Quinn smiled and sipped her own wine, also Pinot Noir. "Well, we're alone, now."

Alec relaxed a bit and leaned his head on the back of the couch. "Yeah."

They were silent for a moment, simply enjoying the peace.

"You seem really close to your dad," he said, breaking the quiet.

"Yeah," she said, smiling. "I love him more than anything. I'm actually following in his footsteps, carrier wise."

Alec chuckled. "Only carrier wise?"

"Definitely. I've seen a rift growing between him and his wife, my step-mom, and I definitely don't want that in my marriage."

"What do you think made that rift happen?" he asked, genuinely curious.

She was silent for a little moment, thinking on how to phrase it. "I think it's because he hides so much from her."

"What does he hide?"

"Too much. But mostly what he does at work, and other things. Sometimes I wonder if he married a trophy wife."

Alec chuckled, and sipped again the Pinot. "And you're afraid you're going to be a trophy wife?"

"No," she replied. "I just don't want any secrets between us. Like if there's something you want to know, you just need to ask. And it would go the other way around, too, if you want."

"You know what, I'd really like that," he said, shifting his position so he could face her better. He remembered about his conversation with Petra about Quinn. But if he told her straight out what he knew, it would complicate things.

"What is it you really do with your dad? You're too smart for being an Internal Affairs Specialist," he said.

Quinn took a deep breath, and looked at the Prince she loved above all else. "You're right, I'm not an Internal Affairs Specialist," she admitted. "Me and my dad work for an intelligence department which specializes in Technology."

Alec raised an eyebrow. "Which means... you do what exactly?"

"Which means I can access a lot of computers, but not as much as my dad, I don't have that clearance, yet." She sighed. "Look. I'm sorry I didn't tell you this sooner, Alec. It's just that it's a highly sensitive job and if people really knew what I did, I would never have gotten in the Selection in the first place."

"Did you hack your way into this?" Alec asked, joking.

"No! Oh, my God, no. I didn't."

"I'm just messing with you," Alec said, taking her hand in his. "And so you can access any kind of computer?" he asked, an idea brewing in his mind.

"Yeah," she said slowly. "Unless it's confidential stuff, and I can't. Why?" she asked, confused. This was not the reaction she was expecting from Alec.

The Prince grinned slyly. "Can you get into a brain quant?"

"What?! Are you crazy?" she hissed, looking around for anyone who could hear them. "Those are totally illegal."

"Yeah, I know," Alec whispered back. "But can you?"

"If they were implanted by a pro, then they're really well protected. Even a good hacker couldn't get in, I mean-"

"I don't need to get in or to hack it," he said, putting his empty wine glass on the coffee table. "All I need is to know if there is really one."

Quinn was more and more confused. "And who are you suspecting has a brain quant? One of the Selected?"

"Nope," Alec said. "Even better." He grinned.

"Your sister?" Quinn whispered, getting caught into this crazy revelation.

"My mother," Alec whispered back, making sure no one could hear him.

"What?! You can't be serious."

"Look, I'm not sure, but I've been wondering for weeks. There's just something off about her, you know? Like she always knows stuff about people she isn't supposed to know."

"Huh," Quinn said. "I never thought."

"How close do you need to get to access a computer?"

"Close enough," she said, taking off the ring she always fiddles with. "I do it with this ring," she continued. "But if I try accessing the quant, she'll know right away if she has one. Which will blow up my cover."

"Right," Alec said. "I hadn't thought of that." He paused. "What if I take the ring and try to access her brain quant?"

"Won't work," she said. "It has to be on my finger. I have metacarpal implants to have better dexterity in my fingers, and they're linked to my Contacts. The ring has to be on my finger for it to work, since everything is linked. Biotech," she said rolling her eyes, as if it would explain everything.

"I see," Alec said. "Then do you have another idea on how we can access it?"

Quinn thought for a moment. "Maybe," she said slowly. "Next time we're in the same room as your mother, we have to walk close to her, and I'll turn on the access Ring, and I'll know right away if there's a Brain Quant. I can turn it on and off, and she won't even know it was me."

"You sure?" he said.

"Yes," she replied, although she knew doing this was a huge risk. If the Empress did have a Brian Quant and if she wasn't quick enough, her cover would be blown, and it was all over. She could be put in jail for treason. But she knew she had to help Alec. In fact, she would do pretty much anything for him.

"And what are you going to do if she does have a brain quant? She could be in huge trouble, especially since she's the Empress."

"I know," Alec said. "I don't know yet. I guess I'll just confront her about it. I don't know." He sighed. "You know what, why don't we go to the wine cellar and choose a couple bottles to take with us to taste," he said, completely changing the subject. "I'm sure it could help us think better, don't you think?"

Quinn grinned. "Now we're talking."

They went down to the kitchen, and Alec pushed the central island on its rails, revealing a round opening in the floor with a spiral staircase going down to the cellar. "Come on," Alec said as he stepped down.

"Oh. My. God," Quinn said once they were down there. "You can't be serious."

"Yes, I am," Alec said proudly, although this wine cellar wasn't his at all. Hundreds of bottles were lined up in chronological order on both sides of the cellar, and at the far end, there was a tasting bar. Several bottles were lined up with some kind of faucet coming out directly from them. Alec took out two glasses from a cupboard and handed one to Quinn. "What do you want to start with?"

Quinn took the glass and read the labels on the bottles. "Oooh," she said. "This one."

"Bordelais of the year 2297," he said. "Nice choice." They both put some wine in their glass and sipped it. Alec swallowed the wine, and Quinn burst out laughing.

"You're not supposed to swallow it, you silly," she said. "Otherwise we're gonna be dead drunk before we can get to our third wine."

Alec raised an eyebrow. "What am I supposed to do with it? Spit it out?"

"Yeah, duh," Quinn said jokingly, grabbing a metallic bin from the tasting bar. "Right in here."

Alec raised an eyebrow and made a face. "But that's so much waste!"

Quinn rolled her eyes and showed him how it was properly done. Alec followed her lead but he couldn't just spit out every wine he tasted. He just had to properly drink them. After an hour doing this, he wasn't downright drunk, but he was a little tipsy. And so was Quinn. She had a clearer head than Alec and managed to get them both to the thirteenth floor, where her room was. Alec's head was clear enough for him to know that he wanted to kiss Quinn. And so he did, gently pushing her up against her door. Only, it was done clumsily, and she bumped her head against it, and he against hers.

"Ow," Quinn said, half laughing, half seriously complaining, bringing a hand to her head.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Alec said. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. It was late, almost one in the morning, so there wasn't anyone in the corridor, but Alec still opened the door and quickly closed it behind them, both giggling that teenage girls.

"I can't even remember the last time I drank that much," Quinn said.

"You didn't drink that much," Alec said, sitting on the couch in her room. "You spit out most of the wine you tasted."

"That's because it's supposed to be how you do it. I can't believe you're a Prince and you don't even know this."

Alec shrugged. "Of course I did. I was just messing with you. But this was definitely the best wine tasting I did in my life," he said. "Last time we visited Versailles and the uptight French Monarchy, we had a wine tasting there, and it was so boring. Although the wine was pretty good, I have to admit."

Quinn laughed and sat next to him, but then thought better of it and sat on his lap, instead, straddling him. Alec grinned as he wrapped his arms around her and looked up at the beautiful girl so close to him. She gently pressed her lips on his and kissed him. He eagerly returned the kiss.

"Okay, okay," he said, breaking the kiss and gently pushing her away, just enough that he couldn't kiss her anymore. "Last time I was drunk with one of the Selected, it didn't turn out really well... Maybe I should go," he said, surprised to have a clear enough head to say this.

Quinn smiled. "I wouldn't want to be the one to make you fall," she said, lightly pressing a quick kiss on his lips. "And my dad would probably murder me if anything happened."

"Oh, yeah," Alec said. "I wouldn't want to face your father, to be honest. Not just yet..."

Quinn giggled and sat next to him on the couch. "Then you better go to bed in your own room," she said. "And I'll try to find a better way to get to your mother in the meantime."

Alec nodded and kissed her again. "Thanks for understanding, Quinny," he said and got up.

Quinn watched him walk away, a dreamy smile on her face, hoping against all hope that he would chose her. Or else she would have a broken heart for the rest of her life...

* * *

 _ **Heeeyyyy! I finally wrote this chapter**_ (took me two days) _**after two weeks of writer's block... ugh...**_

 _ **thanks for your patience and your support! and thanks for your DM's with ideas and support ;)**_

 _ **Thanks to those who sent date ideas and their projects! still waiting for Thalia's, Katia's and Danielle's projects! ;) thanks ;)**_

 _ **And thanks also for your reviews! did you see you guys passed the 200 milestone? OMG! thanks!**_

 _ **anyway... hope the next chapter will be sooner than two weeks^^**_

 _ **see you!**_


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39**

It had been a week since the families arrived, and Alec thought that the Palace was even more crowded than when the Selection started, or even more than the Gala. Everywhere he went, there were parents or brothers trying to talk to him, either making sure he was treating the girls correctly, or making sure to tell him how great and beautiful and a perfect an Empress their daughters would be. Alec tried to stay civil most of the time, but right now, he was beyond that. His last conversation with Thalia's mother had been the last straw.

"Sooo," Sylvia Moreau had said, coming over to Alec in a way she thought very sexy and alluring, but of course Alec thought she was much too old for him. "Your Highness, why did you keep our daughter around?"

Alec smiled politely. "I just liked-"

"What did you see in her? Or was there something... more, there?" she asked slyly, touching his arm.

"Mrs. Moreau," Alec had said, a little annoyed. "This Selection is my business, and mine alone. I'm not debating the girls with anyone, especially not their mothers."

"Well," Sylvia had continued. "My daughter is very intelligent and dedicated. She would be the best choice for your Empress."

"I'm sure she would," Alec said sarcastically. "Now will you excuse me, please? I have my girlfriends," he said, emphasizing the S, "to take care of. Good afternoon." And he had left without another word, anger and annoyance building inside. He strode with purpose to his father's office but was stopped a few doors before that by Chris.

"Hey, man," he said with a smiled. "Long time no see."

Alec grunted something in reply, but that didn't stop Chris from following the Prince.

"Hey, what's wrong? Where are you going?"

"Ending this shit," Alec said.

"Wait, wait, wait," Chris said, holding Alec's arm. "You need to cool down a bit before you do anything rash." He pushed the Prince in his own father's office – which was empty at the moment, and two doors before – and closed the door behind them. "What happened? What are you ending? The Selection?"

"No, you idiot," Alec said, rolling his eyes and running his hands in his long hair. "I'm not having the families a minute longer here, Chris," he said. "They're getting on my nerves! Everyone's trying to tell me what to do and who to choose. I mean, who do they think they are?!"

Alec chuckled and sighed, relieved. "Damn, man. I thought you were going to call off the whole Selection."

"You know I can't do that, even if I wanted to. But I can get rid of the families, and I'm going to do it."

"Okay," Chris said. "But calm down. You know your dad doesn't like you to take rash decisions when you're angry."

Alec sighed and sat on one of the leather chairs. "I know." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, which he let out as slowly as possible. "You know," he said, looking at the ceiling. "I don't think I'm gonna be able to deal with my life when I'm emperor."

"What are you talking about, Al?" Chris asked, sitting in the chair facing his friend.

"I'll need you right next to me. You're gonna be my Life Assistant."

Chris snorted. "You won't need me, man. You'll have a wife to do that for you."

Alec shook his head. "You know me better than anyone. See what you just did?"

"Yeah, well your wife will do that for you. I'm just stepping in for now, because you don't have a wife, yet."

Alec sighed. "Well then, you'll step in if she's incompetent in the matter."

Chris burst out laughing. "If my guess is correct, I won't need to do that."

Alec jerked his head in Chris's direction and glared at him. "And what's your guess?"

"Can't tell you," Chris said slyly. "Come on, you need to end this family shit," he continued, changing the subject.

"Right," Alec said, standing up and straightening his tie. That's one more thing he won't have to do when the families will be gone: wear a suit every day. He knocked on his father office and entered once invited to, scanning his eye on the Retbox.

-x-

After a loud lunch in the grand dining hall, Alec wanted to leave the Palace for the afternoon, and he knew the exact person to do this with. He sent a message via Contacts to Addison, inviting her for a date.

 _Meet me on the 9thFloor Terrace with a hiking outfit at 2pm._

A little before two o'clock, he headed to the rendezvous point, wearing an old pair of jeans, a black t-shirt, some hiking shoes and a pair of sunglasses on his head. He heard some footsteps behind him, and turned around to see the brunette girl dressed in a skinny black pants, a white tank top, with some bright orange sneakers. She had done her hair in two braids, and was also wearing a pair of sun glasses on her head.

Alec grinned. "I'm not gonna lose sight of you with those shoes."

"That's the closest we found for hiking," she said, laughing. "Where are we going?"

"In the Northern part of Angeles. There's a nice trail there with a nice view, too."

"Cool," she said.

Just then, a two-seater Hovo Transport arrived and stopped a few feet away. The door popped open and Alec offered his hand to Addison. "Ready?"

"Ready when you are," she replied with a grin, showing dimples in her cheeks. She let Alec help her in the Transport, then the Prince dialed in their destination coordinates and they simply let the vehicle take them away.

"It's going to feel good to get away for a few hours," Addison said, looking out the window.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Alec said. "These past few days have been... intense."

Addison chuckled. "I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like to meet all the families at the same time," she said. "Some are quite a burden."

Alec chuckled. "Yeah, some are. But not yours. I liked talking with your dad. And you're brother's cool." He smiled. "I liked how he stayed true to himself and true to you, even here."

Addison chuckled lightly. "Yeah, sorry about the time he made me ride on his back."

"No, that's exactly what I was talking about," he said. "He stays true to himself, even around royalty." He chuckled. "Look, this has to stay between us, but some of the parents – not your, of course – are so superficial around me. Like they want to show their best side. But that's not what I wanted, actually. I just wanted to see what real families were, I guess."

"Alec, you have a real family. Your parents love you. And so do Avonlea and Austin."

He sighed. "Yeah, I know. But we're still royals. My dad's still the Emperor, and my mom is still the Empress."

"So? You're still a family."

"A public family. All I've ever wanted was a normal family. A normal life. A life where I could choose where I wanted to go. Not a path already laid out for me, where I couldn't stray right or left."

Addison didn't say anything and simply looked at Alec looking outside.

"Sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have said that."

"No, it's fine," she said. "We've been living under the same roof for a few months, and now that there's only a few of us left, I think I'm starting to understand what it must be like for you, every single day. I've seen the Tabloids and what goes on the Feeds. It's all about us and what we do, and say, and wear. Our life is public, too, you know?"

Alec nodded, but didn't say anything.

"What would you do, if you weren't the Crown Prince? If you had a normal life?"

Alec shrugged. "When I was a kid, I was always daydreaming of what I would do if I just ran away. After some time, I just stopped thinking about it, because it was an impossible dream."

"But what did you dream about when you were a kid?" she asked.

Alec looked outside. "Holiday tester, traveling with my bike around the world." The mountains were coming up on the horizon.

Addison chuckled. "That doesn't really pay the bills," she said. "What about a real job?"

"Nano-Medics," he said after some thought. "I was always fascinated by how tech can improve people's lives. And I always dreamed I could enhance myself with some nano-tech, but it was forbidden, because I was a royal." He sighed. "So I stopped thinking about it. Now I'm supposed to be the next Emperor, and clearly, I have no idea what I'm doing."

"That's not true," she said. "One thing about you that I noticed is that you listen to people. And you always try to help them. And that's exactly what an Emperor should be like. At least that's my point of view. If you want to improve your people's lives, you have to listen to their needs, and act accordingly. And who already know how to do this." She paused, breathing. "Look what you did for Callisto with the Gala."

Alec looked at his date and smiled. "Thanks," he said. "I never thought of it that way." He chuckled. "I always thought I wasn't a people person."

"You're not a large-group person," Addison say. "You prefer being in a small group or on a one-on-one."

"Yeah, maybe you're right," he said as the transport slowly made its descent to the ground. "Here we are," he said, "with a view on the ocean." He chuckled. "I can never tire of this view. If I could, I'd build myself a house on the cliffs, and wake up with the sound of the waves and the seagulls."

Addison laughed. "That makes two of us, then."

Alec guided her on the easy trail, because it was the shortest if they were going to get back on time to change for dinner, and they continued talking about random things. Alec knew about Addison's fear of love and intimacy, so he kept his distance while walking, staying either next to her if the trail was large enough, or behind her if she fell or twisted her ankle. But at some point on the way back to their Transport, Addison was the one to slip her hand in his and Alec grinned. They exchanged a glace and grin and continued walking in silence for a little while. This was Addison's first time holding hands with a boy. Guy. Man. Prince. Whatever. And she didn't let go of his hand until they arrived at the Palace a few hours later.

-x-

After the main dish, that evening, Alec stood and lightly knocked his knife on his crystal glass, careful not to break it in a million pieces, asking for everyone's attention.

"Sorry to interrupt your conversations," he said, putting his glass down. "I just wanted to tell you that this will be your last evening with your daughters." He smiled. "Transports will come for you tomorrow afternoon, after lunch, so please enjoy your last evening here."

"But why?" Mrs. Mercer asked. "We've been here only a week."

"I know that," Alec said, keeping his poker face smile. "And it was plenty of time for you to see your daughters, and plenty of time for me to meet you." He nodded once and sat back down, just as the Androids came in with the desserts. Alec didn't notice what he was eating, too much lost in thought, looking at her. And her, and her. Out of the eight ladies left, he had three in mind, now, who could become his wife. How was he going to choose?

When the whole dinner was over, he caught up with Jessica, and kindly told her he was letting her go along with her parents.

"I'm sorry," he said. "It's just... I don't really feel anything between us. I-"

"I totally get it," Jessica said. "I don't have any feelings for you either," she said. "But I did like you as a friend... with benefits," she added with a sly wink

Alec chuckled. "Yeah, well... Thanks. For not taking this badly."

"No problem," she said, flipping her hair away. "It was cool." She placed a quick kiss on his cheek and walked away with one last glance over her shoulder, swinging her hips.

"Alec?" he heard behind him, and he turned around, facing Danielle.

"Danielle? What is it?"

She sighed and wrung her hands in front of her. "I was just wondering- I mean, I don't know if I can ask you this, but..." she trailed off.

"What?" Alec asked, taking a step closer. "You know you can ask me anything, right?"

She nodded and took a deep breath. "Look, Avonlea has been asking us to come up with a huge project to do as our first kind of job if we become Empress," she said. "But I just realized that this Empress stuff is really not for me, you know?"

Alec raised an eyebrow. "What are you saying, Danielle?"

"Look, I've had a great time, and I really appreciate all you did for me, and for us in general, but I don't think I'm cut out to be a Royal."

Alec didn't know what to say. He sighed. "You wanna go home?"

"Yeah, kind of," she said, relieved.

"If that's what you really want, then okay," he said, a pang of sadness in his heart. "But I'm gonna miss you."

"Nah," she said dismissively. "You're gonna choose your One, and you're gonna forget about the rest of us.

Alec snorted. "You really think I'm gonna forget all of this? Not a chance. And I'm going to see you again, Danielle. You can be sure of that."

Daniel smiled and curtsied awkwardly. "I wish you all the love and happiness, Your Highness," she said.

"Danielle," Alec said, taking her hand and helping her up. "Thanks. But I don't want to call me that. Come here," he said, pulling her into a hug. "I wasn't kidding when I said I was gonna miss you. You were a really kind and gentle spirit around here, and we could definitely use more of that."

Danielle chuckled lightly against his chest. "Thanks," she said, her voice cracking a little. Then she pulled away and walked back to her room to pack.

 _Six left_ , Alec thought with mixed feelings, heading to the Family Room for one last evening of craziness.

-x-

Alec couldn't sleep. All this Selection and family stuff was gnawing at him. He knew it was soon ending, and then reality would struck him hard in the face: soon his father would step down and he would take his place. But even though he had been trained all his life for this, he knew he would never be ready.

He kicked away the covers of his bed, pulled on a t-shirt, a pair of jeans, and his slippers and headed to the Vacuum. "Level Five," he ordered, rubbing his face with his hands. In a few seconds he was down, and he stepped out of the Vacuum and walked to the kitchen. The lights were already on and he followed the noise, there was someone humming.

"Thalia? What are you doing here?"

Thalia jumped and almost dropped the saucepan she was holding. "Jeeze, Alec. Don't scare me like that," she said, holding a hand to her heart. "You're going to give me a heart attack."

Alec chuckled. "Sorry. But what are you doing here?"

She looked at her pan. "Cooking Mac'n'cheese?" she chuckled. "At least I'm trying to. What are you doing here? Is that a Captain America T-shirt?" she asked, incredulous.

Alec looked down at his clothes. "Yeah? Is that bad?" he chuckled. "I couldn't sleep," he said, shrugging. "I thought I'd get something to eat to help me."

"Can't you just ask for some sleeping pills?"

"I could, but Dr. Marshall is asleep, and I don't want to disturb him just for that. What about you?"

"I can't take those," she said, looking at her cheesy macaroni. She stirred the pasta. "It's incompatible with my medicine," she said quickly.

Alec frowned. "Oh," he said. "What for?"

"Depression and anxiety," she said softly. "At least now you know before you choose," she said. "I had to tell you at some point."

Alec took a step closer to her and put his hand on her arm. "Hey, I totally know what it's like," he said. "I took those for some time, too."

"You did? When?"

At the end of my teenage years. From 17 to 23 years old. I haven't touched any in two years, though."

She chuckled humorlessly. "So it is possible..."

"Yeah. It was complicated when I stopped, but then it got better."

Thalia smiled. "Thanks," she said. "It kind of gives me hope, you know? I thought I'd be taking those all my life." She rolled her eyes. "Actually, until my parents came over, I hadn't needed one for a few weeks. But then my mother came, and anxiety hit me again hard."

"That bad? I mean, with your family."

"Yeah. Well, nothing's new. It's been like this for as long as cam remember. My doctor thinks it's because of my mom that I have depression and anxiety." She paused. "Oh, the pasta's ready. You want some?"

"Yeah, sure," he said. He turned on a touch screen on the central island and typed in a few commands. Ten seconds later, two plates, glasses and silverware appeared in a Vacuum Box in the central island.

"Oh, wow," Thalia said. "I would have opened every cupboard to find that." She scooped mac'n'cheese in the plates and they started eating.

"Damn," Alec said, grinning. "I haven't eating mac'n'cheese since I was a kid! And even then, it was only when I asked for it. This is not on the royal menu."

"Yeah, I noticed," Thalia said, chuckling. "That's why I made it."

Both Alec and Thalia ate in silence for a few minutes, enjoying every bite as if it was the last.

"Hey, thanks for telling me, Thalia, about your anxiety and depression," he said awkwardly.

"You're welcome." She paused. "Oh, and by the way, thanks for ending this family thing," she said. "I don't think I could have stood it a while longer."

"Neither could I," Alec said. "It was Aves' idea. She though it would help me choose to get to know the potential families-in-law."

Thalia laughed. "And did it? I'm afraid mine didn't help."

He chuckled. "I decided not to take the families into consideration, for now" he replied. "There's too much at risk," he said, trying not to laugh. "I mean, you can't compare the families. They're too different. And like yours, they're not representative of you."

Thalia smiled and chuckled. "Well, if you send me back home at the end, you'll know that I won't be living with my parents ever again. I'm going far away and find an apartment of my own."

"I totally condone that," he said. "I have to live under the same roof as my entire family for the rest of my life."

Thalia raised an eyebrow. "Your parents are going to stay here even after they step down?"

"Yeah, probably. They'll want to continue to pull the strings." He sighed. "Especially my mom..."

"Alec, you're gonna be the Emperor. You can do whatever you want. Buy them a mansion in Clermont and you're free. And they can spend their retirement there."

"You're a genius," he said. "But I'll have to do it as inconspicuously as possible. Maybe as their 30thanniversary gift?"

"There," Thalia said. "Problem solved. You kick them out, and I run away, if it comes to that."

They both laughed and had second servings of the mac'n'cheese.

* * *

 _ **Hiiiii! hope I didn't make you wait too long^^ but here goes!**_

 _ **hope you liked it!**_

 _ **thanks to** BerryBush123 **and** RaspBerry_Panda **for Danielle and Jessica, it was fun to bring them to life! :)**_

 _ **thanks for your reviews on the previous chapter, too! hope you liked this one, and I can't wait to read your thoughts about it ;) see you soon!**_

 _ **(oh, and btw I'm almost at a 100k word! OMG!)**_


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40**

Alec popped a bottle of Champagne and filled three glasses. One for Chris, one for Grayson, and one for him. They clinked their glasses together and toasted to freedom.

"I can wear a pair of jeans and t-shirt," Alec said, "and I don't have to smile all the time."

Grayson chuckled. "To Alec and his freedom," he said, and the two others joined him.

"Damn, the families have been gone only for a day, and it seems as though the Palace is quiet again," Chris said.

"It doesn't _seem_ so, Chris," Alec said, drinking his glass in one go. "It _is_ quiet." He chuckled. "I couldn't have survived another day."

They all chuckled as they all received a message on their Contacts at the same time.

"Avonlea needs me," Alec said, rolling his eyes.

"I got a message, too," Chris said.

"Yeah, me too," Grayson added.

The boys exchanged a glance. "What does she want?" Chris asked.

"There's only one way to know," Alec said, putting his glass on the table. The others finished their glasses bottoms up and the trio headed to the kitchens, where Avonlea had told – more like _ordered –_ them to go. They squeezed in the Vacuum and landed a few seconds later on the fifth floor. Alec led the way to the kitchens, where the six remaining girls were waiting, as well as Austin and Alistair.

"Well," Avonlea said. "Look who decided to finally join us," she said, mockingly, and everyone laughed. "Okay, so for this afternoon, I've decided to organize a little game. It seems I don't have anything else to do and I'm bored," she said sarcastically. She looked at everyone who looked back at her expectantly. "We are going to have an Iron Chef Competition."

"Wait, what?" Eryn said. "We're going to cook?"

"Yes," Avonlea said, and everything will be recorded by the HovoCams, and showed to the public in a couple days. They've been craving some competition, and since Alec won't give them that, I'm going to make sure they have it." She put the HovoCams in actions – five in total hovering in the kitchens.

She asked Austin, Chris, Grayson, and Alistair to sit at a table, and gave the number one through four. "You're going to be the judges," she said. "And if there's a tie, then there will be a fifth judge."

Next, she put Alec in the middle of the working table, and aligned three girls on each side of him. "And you'll be the contestants." She grinned, proud of her little game. "Now, I have a surprise for you," she said, walking to the door. "I have invited someone very special to coach you and comment on your work."

Alec and the girls exchanged worried looks, but it turned out they didn't have to worry at all! Because the surprise guest was none other than Jaxon Jinx, the Master Chef who owned the biggest seven-star restaurant in Clermont, with a whole line of restaurants all over the country. But also Jaxon Jinx, the Master Chef who hosted the most famous culinary competition in Illéa.

"Oh my God," Alec said. "Jaxon Jinx? Seriously?"

"Aye, mate," he replied. "I mean, Your Highness." He had a heavy Irish accent, with thick black hair, light green eyes, his signature three-day stubble and coy smile. He was also wearing his all-time black leather outfit.

Alec chuckled. "Oh, please, no. Just Alec is fine. Or _mate_."

The girls all giggled and Jaxon Jinx made a point of honor to say hello to all the ladies. Alec thought he did that just for the cameras, but Jaxon Jinx was genuine, and a gentleman.

The four "judges" thought all this very funny, until Avonlea made them draw at random the three ingredients the contestants would have to use.

Avonlea gave the floor to Jaxon, and he gladly stepped in.

"All right, ladies and gentlemen," he said. "There will be three dishes, and seven of you. Addison and Thalia will be doing the first course, one dish each, and your ingredient will be huckleberries," he said, reading the first card.

Addison and Thalia exchange a glance. How could you do a starter dish with huckleberries?

"Next, we will have three main dishes, made by Prince Alec, Eryn and Korina; and your ingredient is barbecue sauce." He grinned coyly and announced the third group, which was made of Quinn and Katia, and they had to make a dessert with Marshmallows.

Avonlea stepped in. "Okay, so you have everything in this kitchen at your disposal, from utensils to pans to ingredients. All you have to do is ask the three cooks who are here with you, one with each group." She paused for drama. "You have one hour."

The contestant gasped and quickly went along with the game, scurrying along in the kitchen to get what they needed.

Out of the five HovoCams, three followed Alec and the girls – one for each group – and the two others were assigned to Jaxon Jinx and Avonlea. While the competitors went to work, she took her HovoCam and interviewed the judges, who didn't have anything to do at the moment.

"So, Austin," she said. "Now that you're back with us here, how do you think this competition is going to end? Who's going to win?"

Austin raised an eyebrow and swung on his chair. "What competition are you talking about?" he asked slyly. "This cooking thing or the Selection?"

"You tell me," Avonlea said, trying not to laugh. "And stop swinging on your chair, you're gonna break your neck."

"Nah, I'm better than that," he said, waving away her warning. "If we're talking about the cooking, I think the best cook is going to be Alec."

"Alec? Why?"

"You'd be surprised what he can do in a kitchen. I remember he made some awesome burgers one night. We were both coming home from a night out – shh, don't tell mom – and we were both starving. It was maybe three in the morning, and he just flipped those burgers like he had done that all his life."

"Maybe he did," Grayson said. "Who knows what he does when he takes a ride. Maybe he goes to flip burgers. You never know."

By then, Avonlea was laughing so hard, her belly ached. Austin, too, laughed, and he fell from his swinging chair, making everyone jump and almost drop what they had in their hands, and the jury laughed even more. And the HovoCam recorded the whole thing.

"You'll cut that out, right?" Austin said, sitting back on his chair.

"You wish," Avonlea said. "Chris? What do you think?"

"About the Prince falling from his chair?"

"No," Avonlea said. "About this competition."

"I think Eryn has the best chance, here," he said, giving a name at random. "I don't know, I just picture her making sandwiches."

Alistair burst out laughing at that.

"Something you'd like to add, Your Highness?" Avonlea asked the British Prince and future King.

"I don't know the competitors that well," he said, "But I do know that the organizer is pretty hot."

"Who?" Avonlea asked slyly. "Jaxon Jinx? I didn't know you had a thing for guys."

The three other boys burst out laughing.

"No, you, silly," Alistair said, taking her hand and pulling her to him. He kissed her and everyone gasped for the HovoCams. But Avonlea kissed him back.

"Wow," Austin said. "Now that's something I thought I'd never see."

Avonlea continued asking them silly questions while waiting for the hour to pass.

On the other side of the kitchen, the seven cooks were deep in their work. Although what they were producing weren't very conclusive, at least to the eyes.

Jaxon Jinx commented on their work as they went on, and he made them laugh, sometimes gave them some tips and ideas, but then the other group said it wasn't fair, so Jaxon helped them too, and it was chaos. But an hour later, there were seven dishes ready to be tasted by the jury...

"All right," Avonlea said as the seven players lined up in front of the judges. Now all five HovoCams were on the same action, from different vantage points in the kitchen. "Addison and Thalia, please come forward with your plates."

The two girls chuckled and presented their plates to the jury.

"What's that?" Austin said, pointing to the food on Addison's plate.

"It's a-"

"No, wait," Jaxon Jinx said. "Don't say it. You'll tell what it is after the judges tasted it."

Austin was the first to taste the dish. He cut off a tiny piece of the white stuff with the huckleberry coulis.

"Oh wow," Austin said. He was about to take another bite, when Jaxon took the plate away and gave it to the next jury, Grayson. He made a face when he tasted it. Apparently, it wasn't for everyone. Chris and Alistair liked it, and all in all she got a pretty good amount of points, which appeared on a touch screen on the wall.

"Tell us what it was," Avonlea said.

"It was just a huckleberry coulis on some goat cheese with some basil on it."

"I'm definitely keeping that for my new menu," Jaxon Jinx said, tasting it himself. "It's absolutely delicious! I'm going to call it the Royal Menu."

Addison beamed and everyone laughed. Thalia then presented her plate, and again, it didn't look very nice. This time, it was Grayson's turn to try it first. He had mixed feeling about it, and so did the others. Thalia didn't have as many points as Addison for her Summer Salad with huckleberries in it. The French dressing was too sour with the Huckleberries.

"I think with a little twist on the dressing it could be amazing," Jaxon said encouragingly. "I'll make it work for my menu." And he also gave points to the girls.

"Now, Alec, Eryn, and Korina made a main dish with Barbecue sauce. Let's see what came out of that," Avonlea said. Alec let the two girls present their plates first.

Eryn made a dish of chicken rillettes in barbecue sauce on toast, which got her a lot of points, even from Jaxon. Korina went on the safe side and simply had chicken wings to dip in the barbecue sauce. If was good, but not creative enough, and this didn't get many points. Alec presented his plate with a big round bread cut in little squares and covered with a brown sauce that had to be the barbecue sauce.

"What the hell is that?" Jaxon Jinx asked. He hadn't seen the finished dish, yet.

Alec smirked. "I have absolutely no idea. I tried something."

"Here, let me taste it," Chris said bravely. "I'm sure it can't be worse than your burgers..."

Alec chuckled, because that story had not turned out the way Austin had told it. In fact, the burgers were burned, and he put way too much salt. They were both drunk.

"Not bad..." Chris said. "I can taste some onions, and chives? And bread of course, all topped with the sauce. What did you say this was called?"

Alec shrugged. "Uh... Pull-apart bread? I don't know... This is totally random."

Jaxon tasted it. "Seriously, what did you do? This is incredible!"

"Uhm, I just grilled some onions in butter, cut the bread in those small squares, mixed the barbecue sauce with the onions, and simply poured the mixture on the bread, put the whole thing in the oven, and then I added the chives to give it some color..." he trailed off.

The others all tried a piece, pulling a slice of the bread, and everyone loved it. Except Avonlea.

"Maybe a little less onion, next time," she said with a face.

After that, it was dessert time with Quinn and Katia. All the judges wanted to be the first to taste Quinn's dish, because it looked amazing. And it was. She had made a crust of chocolate chip cookies reduced to dust, with a layer of chocolate, topped with marshmallows. She then put the whole thing in the oven, and now the marshmallow was making strings. They all had stringy marshmallows on their fingers by the time the whole pan was eaten by everyone.

And finally, it was Katia's turn to show her dessert. She had made smore's on a stick, and again, everyone was full after that. Jaxon Jinx kept saying that this was his new Royal Menu, with a few twists of his own he would add.

"So, what's the score?" Eryn asked.

Avonlea turned the screen on and they saw that Thalia, Eryn, Alec and Quinn were the four runner ups of the competition.

"Ugh," Eryn said. "I'm not sure I'll be able to eat anything tonight."

"Yeah, me neither," Austin said. "And you didn't eat the first course or the dish."

They all had their bellies popping with marshmallow desserts.

-x-

That evening during dinner, practically no one could eat, so the meal went pretty quickly. When the girls were dismissed, Alec quickly caught up with them and grabbed Eryn's hand.

"Come on," he whispered. "I want to show you something."

The duo left like thieves in the night, without the others noticing.

"Where are you taking me?" Eryn whispered, once they were out of earshot and out of view.

"You'll see. Come on." He pulled her to the Vacuum. "The Roof," he said, and the Vacuum shot up to the roof. They stepped out of the Vacuum and onto the roof.

"What are we doing up here?" she asked.

"That, my dear," Alec said, all mysterious. "is because I have something for you." He smirked and led her to the greenhouse. As the true gentleman he was, he let her walk in first, but she didn't see what he wanted her to see. And Alec found it all the more funny. "Look," he said, pointing to the east side of the greenhouse. And that's when she saw the plants.

"Ginger," she said pointing to the first group of plants. "Lavender, Catnip, Thyme, uh, Lady Ferns." She crouched down. "Ooh, Sage! And Peppermint- Alec, what is all this?"

Alec chuckled. "And what do all these plants have in common?"

"Medicinal plants!" she burst out, grinning. "You can't be serious!"

"Yep," he said, walking over to the wall where a metallic box was stored. He took the box and gave it to her. "And this is for you."

She eyed him suspiciously but took the box nonetheless. "You know today's not my birthday, right?"

"Yeah, I know."

"Then what's the occasion?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I just wanted you to be happy."

"Alec, I'm already happy. I don't need all of this."

"Come on, open the box, already!" he said, ignoring what she had just said.

She opened the lid and squealed. "Oh, my God! My beebots!"

Alec grinned. "Yep. I asked your mother to send them in as soon as she got home. They came in this afternoon."

She smiled and looked at Alec, his ice blue eyes shining in the greenhouse light. "And how long have you been planning this?" she asked, waving at the medicinal garden.

"A couple weeks," he said. "And I personally chose the plants and planted them. But then I had the gardener take care of them until now. And as of today, they're yours."

Eryn put the box on the floor and wrapped her arms around Alec and hugged him. "Thank you," she whispered. Alec gently pushed away, just enough to look at her face. He grinned and then pressed his lips against hers. She was surprised at first, but then she gladly kissed him back. She was wearing a light pink tulle dress with her hair down, and Alec's fingers got tangled in her hair, kissing her with all the love he could muster.

When they broke the kiss, they were both breathless. He rested his forehead against hers and grinned. She smiled back and placed a quick kiss on his lips before retreating again.

"Oh, no," Alec said. "You can't do that."

"Do what," she asked slyly.

"Tease me like that. Either you really kiss me, or you don't."

Eryn smirked and kissed him. Really kissed him. They ended against the door of the greenhouse, the only vertical place not covered in plants, dirt or flowers. He continued kissing her jawline, and then her ear, and then gladly followed her neck until he arrived at her collarbone.

Eryn was gasping for air. "Alec, are you sure this is a good idea?" she asked, but it didn't turn out as doubtless as she had wanted.

Alec looked up and their eyes met. He grinned. "We're not doing anything wrong. I'm just kissing you."

"Let's just get some air, then," she said, pulling him outside with her. And again, he pushed her against the greenhouse wall and kissed her, his body pressed against hers. He knew his pants were getting tight, but he didn't care. He just wanted to be with her.

"Alec?" Chris said, stepping out of the Vacuum. "Oh, sorry," he added when he saw the couple kissing. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

Alec groaned and ended the kiss. He sent daggers in Chris's direction. "Can't you see I'm in the middle of something?"

"It's urgent," Chris said.

"Did my parents die?"

"No," Chris said, confused.

"Is the Palace on fire?"

"No! Jeeze, what is wrong with you?"

"Then it's not that urgent."

"It is," Chris persisted. "It's kind of an emergency." He sighed. "Look, the faster we get this over with, the faster you can come back to... whatever you were doing. Please?"

Alec rolled his eyes.

"Please, Eryn? Can I borrow the Prince?"

Clearly she wasn't happy about this, but she nodded. "Fine."

"Oh, come on!" Alec said. "Fine. You have five minutes," he warned Chris. They went into the Vacuum to talk in private. "What is it?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"I'm afraid it's going to take more than five minutes."

"Damnit, just spill it out, Chris."

"Catiena's on a video call. She managed to infiltrate the Time Hackers."

"And you need me for that?"

"Yeah, your dad insisted. He said it would be a good thing for you training. Or something."

Alec rolled his eyes and mumbled a message to Eryn. "I don't know how long this is going to take. It's an emergency. I'll meet you in your room as soon as I'm done. I'm sorry." He blinked once and sent it away.

"K" is all the reply he got, and he blamed Chris for it.

Turned out Catiena had found out what and when and where the Time Hacker were doing: selling kids and teenager as sex slaves all over the world. But the three top customers were France, New Asia and the South African Kingdom. "We'll need to revise our alliances," Theodore had said, and just after that, John Vinsent, the War General, sent out his men to cover Catiena and bust the Ring. She had done it, and was now an International Hero. It would be all over the next Report and the Feeds.

But Alec was impatient to finish this. He had some unfinished business to attend to. As soon as his father dismissed the meeting, Alec was the first out of the door, and behind Eryn's door in a record time.

He knocked, and she answered. She stood in the door frame.

"Are you going to let me in, or not?" he asked slyly.

"You should know I hate to be interrupted in the middle of something important."

"Neither do I," he said. "But I don't have a choice. I'm a Prince, soon to be Emperor, and I'm going to interrupted a lot. I may even be interrupted when I'm having sex with my wife. So you better get used to it," he said stepping inside and wrapping his arms around her waist just after closing the door.

Eryn grinned. "Is that so?"

"Whoever's going to be my wife will have to be lenient with my- our daily schedule."

She chuckled, swinging her head back, and Alec took the opportunity to kiss her neck. They ended on her bed, and snuggled all evening, until they both fell asleep.

When Alec woke up in the morning, he was glad they hadn't done anything else. He wouldn't want to tarnish her reputation. If she was going to be his wife – IF – he wanted it to be the right way. He smiled as he watched her sleep, and pushed a strand of hair away from her face. Damn, she was beautiful.

* * *

 _ **Heeeyyy! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, because I had a great time writing it ;)**_

 _ **Thanks for your reviews on the previous chapter! :D**_

 _ **Next chapter will be the Report, where all the girls's project will be presented! Not sure yet if I'm going to do it one or two chapters, we'll see!**_

 _ **Have a nice day and see you soon!**_

 _ **BTW thanks to ChillyIce for the cooking competition idea ;)**_


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter 41**

"Good evening, Illéa!" Clyde Volt said, jumping in the center of the Report stage just as the opening theme ended. His glitter suit blinded everyone in the Audience, but he didn't care. At least people wouldn't look at him directly. "I hope you are comfortable because there will be a lot of thins going on tonight..." he said mysteriously. "To start this evening, I'm going to let out dear Emperor Theodore give us some long-awaited news." He invited Theodore to join him on the stage.

"Good evening," the Emperor said in his grave baritone voice. "As Clyde said, I have some great news for you. But first, let me present to you the person who made all this possible," he said, turning his gaze to the side door and nodding once. A young woman dressed in a flowing black gown with lace sleeves and an intricate hairdo came in. "You already know her," Theodore continued. "This is Catiena Reeves, one of the former Selected. And she was the one who helped us figure out how and why young children were being kidnapped. She helped us bust the Timer Hacker ring." He paused and smiled at the woman. "Miss Reeves is now an International Hero," he said.

Catiena smiled, and kept her head and her chin high.

"She is no longer the Six she used to be," the Emperor continued, "hiding and running away from her own family. She is now a Reeves, honoring her father, and owning her own name." He went on, explaining without too many details what she had found out, as to not scare his country. The bad guys were under arrest, and would be judged for their crimes. He thanked her again and both walked out of the stage under a thunder of applause and a standing ovation for Catiena. She met Alec's eye and he nodded appreciatively to her, silently thanking her for her hard work.

"Now," Clyde said, coming back, blinding everyone, "before we get to the serious part of this evening, there is a small HoloVid we want to show you." He grinned and stepped away as the Hologram Screen came to life and the cooking competition was up there for everyone to see: The Contestants cooking imaginative dishes, Avonlea asking silly questions to the jury, Austin falling off his chair – which earned Avonlea a smack on the arm by the Prince –, the kiss between Alistair and Avonlea – which got a collective _aw_ from the Audience –, and finally the dishes, Jaxon Jinx's commentary, and the final points and winners. All in all, it was a success, and everyone had a good laugh over it.

Once the Hologram turned off and the stage was free again, Clyde walked back to the center, silently, preparing for what was to come. "Ladies and Gentlemen," he said. "Tonight is a very important part of the Selection process for the six remaining Ladies. Princess Avonlea will explain."

Avonlea stood from her chair, showing her new dress she had expressively 3D printed for the occasion. It was a black gown with a see-through net skirt. She had designed the net design herself and was extremely proud about it. Her mother tried not to roll her eyes at the sight of her almost naked daughter.

"Thank you, Clyde," Avonlea said, her voice loud enough for everyone to hear, thanks to a tiny Nano-Tech mike hidden in her cheek that she simply clicked on with her tongue. "The six remaining Ladies are the last runner-ups for this Selection. One of the them will be Alec's wife, and one day your next Empress," she said, solemnly. "And as your Empress, she will have to work hard to make this country better. During this Selection," she explained, "they worked hard to become what they are today, and they will show us what they could offer as leaders. Each and every one of them has prepared a project to share with you, and the Lady who will become Alec's wife will see her project coming to life as her first job." She smiled and invited the first girl, Katia, to present her plans.

Katia and Avonlea exchanged places, and she turned on the small tablet she had in her hands, which contained her notes. She was wearing an off-the-shoulder gold and gray tulle dress, elegant and sophisticated at the same time.

The Audience was silent, waiting for her to talk. It took Katia a few seconds to collect herself. It was kind of scary to be the first to start.

"To be honest," she started, "at first I had no idea what I was going to do." She paused and took a breath. "But after talking with some friends, I realized I had to do something about what had affected me in a negative way, and how I could change it. To me, it was humanity. Now, you may ask what could be done to change humanity? On a small scale, I think the first part of doing that is to change how humans relate to each other, and how they judge the surface of a person. I am not saying this is easy, because I am the first person to do this, judge." She paused again, breathing, looking at her notes. "What I'm proposing is a Kindness program that could be taught to children from a young age, so they could grow up with kindness in them. Kindness affects people in strange and positive ways," she continued, "and to teach children kindness and empathy is the core of this project." She paused, looking at the Audience. They were waiting for more.

She looked back at Avonlea, who nodded encouragingly to her to continue.

"This Kindness program would be a part of the school system, where the children could interact with each other in an effective way. Of course, it would start in pre-school, growing up knowing that their actions affect others. I'm sure in a few years, this would positively affect people, and before we know it, the next generation of people in Iléa are kinder and happier people." She smiled, and looked around. Some people in the Audience were nodding, but not many. She sighed imperceptibly. "There would also be a program for the parents to use at home with their own children," she continued. "I know from experience what judgement and unkindness can do to a child. I was that child that no one like in school. I was the one everyone mocked. And I know for certain that I could have been a happier kid if I had had friends who didn't always pull me down." She nodded once. "Thank you for your attention." She turned around and sat back in her chair. Everyone applauded. But Katia's hand trembled slightly as she held the tablet in her hands.

"Hey, it's was great," Eryn whispered taking her hand in hers. "And a great idea."

Katia tried a smile for Eyrn's sake, but she needed a few more minutes to calm down.

"Next, Lady Thalia will share her idea," Avonlea said, inviting Thalia to step up.

Thalia walked up to the center of the stage, feeling all the HovoCams staring at her. She was wearing an off-the-shoulders two-piece white and rose-gold dress, with her hair styled with large curls.

"Good evening," she said, smiling to the Audience. "Tonight I want to come back on our vacation trip," she started. "Do you know what I miss most from that cruise?" she asked, not waiting for an answer. "Apart from spending time with Prince Alec, of course," she chuckled. "I miss breathing real air. You probably know I'm a GeoEngineer, and I've been studying other things than cloud formation and rainstorms. Our analyzes and data says that the radiation that contaminated the air 300 years ago is now gone. And it has been gone for decades. I believe that breathing cool, fresh air would be beneficial for everyone." She paused looking at her notes and showing some charts on the HoloScreen. "As you can see, thanks to the PlexiDomes, the Ozone layer has had time, over the past 300 years, to slowly mend, and the sun is not as dangerous as it once was. Of course, too much sun can be harmful if we're not careful, but our Nano-Medics came up with a very effective sunscreen cream to protect ourselves. We won't have to take vitamin D pills, anymore, since we are going to generate it ourselves, thanks to the sun." She paused, looking at her notes on her tablet again. "What I propose is to take down the PlexiDome one by one. But please don't think I haven't thought of a recycling plan," she said mysteriously. "I have contacted one of the firms who take care of the 'Domes to ask them some questions about this. Plexiglass can be broken down into its original chemical constituents, or directly and completely recycled. There are several areas in which the 'Domes can be recycled: the first one is in the construction area, making windows and doors to help the lower Castes get a decent home, or in fluorescent lamps and chandeliers. The second area is the medical field. Plexiglass is used to make baby incubators for the artificial wombs, and some surgical devices. And of course, the third field in which it can be recycled is the Transportation area. HovoTransports and planes are made mostly of Plexglass." She smiled. "So there: better air and sun for us, and free plexiglass to use in different areas to help people." She curtsied to the Audience and walked away under a thunder of applause.

"Please welcome Lady Addison," Avonlea said, as she come forward to talk about her project.

Addison was wearing pink shinny wide spread strapless gown that Avonlea helped design and 3D print, with a simple hairdo and makeup. She was regal in that dress, and everyone noticed it.

"Good evening," she said. "This whole project was inspired by Princess Avonlea, whom I admire. But let me explain." She smiled and went on. "As you may know, I am myself a Four, and I find myself in the middle of the social Castes. I have many friends in the lower Castes, and now I also have friends in the upper Castes, too. My situation has showed me very different lifestyles, and though I had a great time in this Selection and was able to live as a royal, my heart still goes to the less fortunate than me." She paused. "What my heart craves for is to help change the less fortunate and create a united country. There may be Social Castes, but that doesn't mean we can't help each other to better our lives." She paused, trying to make eye contact with the Audience, but the lights were blinding and she couldn't see anyone else. "This is my idea: I want to start a charity collection. Nobles and people from the Castes Four and up would donate each year a certain amount of money, based on their Caste and Salary. This money will then be used to fund more employments and build safer neighborhoods for the families." She paused, taking her breath. "In addition to this fund-raising every year – and this is where Princess Avonlea comes in – I would ask to those who would like to participate, to donate outfits they don't were more than once or twice. Princess Avonlea does this every year: she donates outfits she doesn't wear anymore, and I admire her for this. She has a heart for her people, and we should all follow in her footsteps." She looked back at Avonlea who was holding a hand to her heart, and fighting back tears.

"Thank you," she mouthed to her friend.

Addison walked back to her seat under a thunder of applause. She knew the applause wouldn't necessarily be for the first part of her idea, but rather for putting Avonlea on the top.

"Thank you so much, Addison," Avonlea said when she was back on the stage. "It means a lot to me." She smiled and invited the next Selected to come over and present her project. "Lady Quinn," Avonlea said.

Quinn walked up regally, her chin high, dressed in a dark blue sheath dress with a cape the same color attached to her shoulders. She looked like one of those Greek goddesses and she was breathtaking. Everyone noticed it, and so did Alec.

"Good evening, everyone," she said, her voice loud and clear. "Ever since I was a little girl, I have always been interested to know more about technology and how it works. There is High-Tech everywhere around us, and we take it for granted most of the time. We even have forgotten about a time with less or no technology. Our lives depend on it. Sometimes even our happiness depends on it. What would we do without the artificial wombs? Or our Contacts? Or even the Nano-bots making our lives easier? I, for one, have metacarpal implants to help me work and type faster in my job. I would be much slower without it." She paused. "The only problem about our Technology is that not everyone can afford it. Unfortunately, only the higher Castes can depend on it. What I would want is to make technology more accessible to all socio-economic levels, but also making it safer to use. There would restrictions on it that would keep Time-Hackers at bay. But a better accessibility would also mean that the perks and abilities would allow for low income people to better themselves. There would also be better control over illegal technology, like time-hacking and time brokers, brain quants and gravity pulling. Life as we know it would be much more secure and everyone would have the same chances, or at least better chances." She paused, looking at the Audience. "If ever I have the chance to be Prince Alec's wife, I will work as hard as possible to make this country a safer and better place for everyone regarding technology." She smiled and nodded once before walking back to her seat.

"Thank you, Quinn," Avonlea said, coming back onto the stage. "These four projects were amazing, don't you think?" she asked the Audience, who applauded in response. "Well, I hope you're ready for two more! The ladies have been pouring themselves in these projects for the past two weeks, and personally, I think they've outdone themselves with amazing and ground-breaking ideas!" She smiled and turned to call the fifth lady. "Lady Eryn? Would you join me here, please?"

Eryn obeyed and walked to the center of the stage in a regal red off-the-shoulder and halter top dress, spreading out at the knees. She took a deep breath before talking.

"Ever since the beginning of the Selection, a lot of things happened, some lives were lost, and nothing could be done to save them." She paused, quickly getting caught up with her emotions over the events she was talking about, such as the Gala or the incident with Hyo-Joo in Waverly, but she couldn't get into the details on a Live Report. She took out her Nano-Tech hair-comb out of her hair, letting loose her long brown wavy hair around her shoulders. "I've been wearing this hair-comb every day since the first day of Selection. I made it myself a couple years ago as my last year project during my studies. But anyway," she said, "This is actually the swiss-army knife of Nano-Medic. Each pike of the comb is another life-saver: antiallergenic, antibiotic, disinfectant, coagulative. That's actually Nano-bots that stitch back the skin long enough to bring a person to the Hospital." She paused. "There would also be some anti poison that could interfere with any poison. In most occasions, we don't have the time to find out what poison is being used until it's too late." This time, Eryn had a lump in her throat, thinking of what happened to Veena during the Gala. She wasn't able to save her, and still thought about it to this day.

She took a deep breath, trying to fight back the tears.

"What I'm proposing in my project, is to have small medical kits similar to mine to be able to give the first care to a person before sending him to the hospital. It could be injections or skin patches, whatever the people prefer when buying the medical kit, and to make sure it was cheaper enough for most Castes to afford it, if has to be made by little robots who can work together as in a beehive. I'm not going to get into the technical part tonight for you, but I have most of it figured it out, already." She chuckled lightly. "Of course, even though the price would be low, it wouldn't be cheap enough for the lower Castes to afford it. We could do a fundraising to be able to give a med-kit in every family in the Castes Five and below. And if a person from an Upper Caste wants to pay a second one to give away when he buys one for himself, it will also be possible." She paused and took a shaky breath. "Even if I'm not chosen by Alec- I mean, Prince Alec," she said, quickly correcting herself, "I do hope someone will take this project and make it happen. It could save lives."

When she was finished, she went back to her seat and Korina was called. She was the last one to present her project, and she knew five other amazing ideas had come before her, so she was nervous. She stepped up to the center of the stage, wearing a modest lavender tulle dress. If you didn't know she was an Android, you wouldn't even see it. But that was about to change.

"Good evening," she said. Her voice was smooth, and her stature assured. But deep down, she was mortified. Her project needed her to tell her story. "A few years ago," she started, "I was confronted to an important choice that would alter the rest of my life. I was working as an Extinction Revivalist in the Extant Sanctuary in Midston. While we were reviving wolves from the Pleistocene, I was exposed to a long dead virus. One month after the initial infection, organ failure began to happen. I had no wish to have my consciousness transferred to a clone, and decided to live the last weeks of my life as I was: sick and dying. My mother, who is a Body Part Engineer, had other ideas and worked day and night to create an Android body resembling mine. I argued a long time with her, but she didn't give me a choice. When I lost consciousness due to my sick physical body, she and other doctors transferred me in the Android body she had created. And here I am, an Android in the Prince's Selection."

There were gasps and whispers in the Audience, but Korina ignored them.

"The animals we revive in the Sanctuary are actually clones of ancient animals. But these clones are given parks and reservations. Human clones don't have a say in their future. Either used for spare organs or uploads, they are slaves. We create them only for what we need. They are treated no better than livestock. Shouldn't humans, even clones, have a some say in their future?" She paused, and noticed the non-stop whispers in the room. "I chose not to be uploaded to a clone. Technology saved my life. And I believe that clones don't need to be made for our personal use. We can grow organs without cloning someone. People can upload their consciousness in Androids, just like I did."

"What do you do of all the clone already out there?" an angry voice asked from the Audience, taking Korina aback. No one had asked a question before.

"Give them a second chanc and a future," she said after a few seconds. "They're like us. They're human beings, and they can have the same life we do."

Avonlea saw this was going to end up badly if she didn't step in. "Thank you, Korina," she said. "You have given us a lot to think about." She gently guided Korina back to her seat. "So, there you have it," Avonlea said. "One of these ladies will be your future Empress, and one of these projects will change your life."

"Wow, wasn't that amazing?" Clyde said, joining Avonlea. "But I think we have one person in particular to thank. The woman who coached and taught these Ladies since Day One: Princess Avonlea, you have done a great job at building these ladies into what they are, now. I'm sure they're ready for the last stretch of the Selection!"

"They are," Avonlea said. "And I can't wait to find out which one will be my sister-in-law. Although I'm sure we are going to see all of them a lot in the future. Friendships built during the Selection often last a lifetime."

"I hope you're right, Your Highness," Clyde said. "I hope you're right." He turned back to the Audience who had calmed down a bit. "Ladies and Gentlemen, have a great evening, and don't forget to check the Feeds for updates on the Selection, the Selected, and Prince Alec himself! Good night!"

* * *

Heeyyy! so there you are! all the projects are out there, and now Alec will have even more trouble to chose... or not ;)

which one was your favorite?

thanks to those who continue posting outfits, quotes and other stuff on the Pinterest board! it's really cool ;)

see you soon for the next chapter! ;)


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter 42**

After that memorable Report, they all headed to the dining room for a long-awaited dinner. The girls went in the front, congratulating each-other for their ideas and speeches, while Alec stayed a little behind with Grayson.

"So," Alec said. "How are you and Katia doing?"

"What?"

"You know what I'm talking about, Gray."

"This is your Selection, not mine," Grayson replied, fighting back a blush that was creeping up his neck. "I should be asking you this question."

"Katia and I are just friends," Alec said, matter-of-factly. "I'm not blind, you know?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Alec."

Alec stopped and rolled his eyes. "Seriously, man? How long are you going to hide the fact that you actually love her?"

Grayson tried to play it cool. "And what would you know about love, Your Highness?" he asked sarcastically. "You currently have six girlfriends."

"Gray. I need to know if you really love Katia or not. Because you and I both know I need to continue eliminating girls, especially now, after the projects. And I don't want to send them home without something, or at least hope of something. There is going to be enough heartbreaks, as is it," he whispered. "The least I can do is send them home with love in their heart, even if it's not mine."

Grayson snorted. "And are you going to find five husbands for the five you won't marry?"

"No," Alec said. "You know I can't do that. But at least to one."

Grayson sighed. "Fine. Yes. I do love her. But she's afraid of love. I'm not even sure she'll ever be ready, you know?"

Alec nodded. "I'll talk with her. Come on, let's go. They're waiting for us to eat."

The two young men hurried to the dining room where everyone was waiting for them. Alec took his place in the center of the table where the Ladies were, while Chris, Austin, Grayson and Avonlea ate at the Emperor's table.

-x-

"Your ideas and projects were all amazing," Alec said as soon as we sat down. "I can't even tell you which one was my favorite. You all did something really personal and I can't admire and thank you enough for it." He smiled and tried to make eye contact with all of them. He finished with Eryn and stared at her a little longer than necessary. "Anyway," he said, taking a breath, "I'm really impressed how you all are dedicated to this Selection. You could have gotten away with a safe project, but you decided to dive fully into it and surprise all of us. Especially me." He lifted his glass. "I propose a toast, to the future Empress," he said, trying not to look too long at one in particular.

"To the future Empress," they all repeated, looking at each other.

 _This is it,_ Alec thought. _The Competition is up._ He chuckled and drank his wine.

After dinner, he quickly caught up with Katia. "Can I talk to you?" he said.

"Of course," Katia smiled, and Alec invited her to take some 'fresh' air outside on the terrace.

Once they were outside they sat on the edge of the low wall. "Can I ask you something?"

She nodded.

"Why do you fear falling in love so much?"

Katia looked away and absentmindedly played with the fabric of her gray tulle skirt. She didn't answer right away, and Alec thought he had overstepped a line and was about to apologize when she took a breath and talked.

"It's not that I fear falling in love," she said softly. "I am in love with many things in this world. I love my brother, I love my friends, I love the stars, sunsets," she trailed off. "I love a lot of things." She paused, thinking. "What I do fear, however, is falling so deeply in love with someone and investing my life into theirs only to discover that they do not feel the same about me. To me, that is how you die while still breathing, and you can never recover from that, no matter how hard you try." She paused again, looking away. "The scariest part about that is that you're never going to know if you're falling for the wrong person. That's what I'm afraid of."

Alec nodded, but didn't say anything right away.

"Is that stupid?" she suddenly asked.

"What? No, of course not," he said, taking her hand in his. He smiled. "You know, I know my best friend pretty well, and I can tell when he's in love."

"Chris?" she said.

"I was talking about Grayson. And I believe he has fallen in love with you."

Her shoulders fell a tiny bit, and Alec noticed. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I signed up for your Selection, not his."

"You did," Alec said. "But I'm going to marry only one. And the rest of you will go home either with a broken heart, or someone to love and who loves you back." He paused. "You and I know that there is nothing between us other than a deep friendship that I will cherish always."

Katia chuckled and nodded.

"And I don't want to see you broken hearted."

"Alec, are you trying to find boyfriends for the ones you are not going to marry?"

He chuckled. "Grayson asked me the exact same thing." He paused. "I'm afraid I can't do that for everyone, but I can do this at least for you."

She smiled and then looked away. "Was I so easy to read?"

"Grayson was easier to read," he said. "So, do you love him? Or at least do you think you could fall in love with him? If he's the right person? In time?"

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Does that mean you're kicking me out?"

"And I'm making sure you have somewhere to land."

Katia finally met his eyes and smiled. "Thank you. And yes, I think I can fall in love with him if he's the right one." She frowned. "But how will I know? If he's the right one, I mean."

"I don't think you can ever know. But I think it's worth the risk, right?"

"Maybe," she said.

"Good."

"What about you?" she asked. "Who are you going to take the risk with?"

Alec looked at her from the corner of his eyes and smirked. "That, my friend, is a secret."

"Oh, please," she said, rolling her eyes. "Haven't you seen the polls in the Feeds?"

"Don't tell me you look at those things."

"We all do," she said. "But behind the closed doors of the Palace, we see things, too. Things the people don't."

"Like what?" Alec dared asked. Had he been so careless that even his Selected could read him?

"Like how you always stare at the same girls far longer than necessary. I think you're still deciding between two of them."

Alec chuckled and shook his head. "Only two?"

"At least two you can't seem to shake off in public. Maybe there's a third one in your private thoughts."

This time, Alec burst out laughing. "Do you girls really talk about this? Isn't this supposed to be a Competition? Like you're rivals?"

Katia shrugged. "It was at first. But now we've grown so close, and I don't think anything can come between our friendships."

"You say that now," Alec said, being realistic. "But once only two or three remain, it's going to get complicated."

Katia didn't say anything. Then, "If I can give you an advice?"

"Sure," Alec said, surprised.

"If I'm thinking about the two same as you, they're both head over heels for you. But you should choose the second one you fell for. Because if you truly had loved the first one, you wouldn't have fallen for the second one."

Alec raised an eyebrow.

"I read that somewhere," she said. "But I think it's full of truth." She stood. "I'll leave you to your thoughts. In the meantime, I have someone I need to talk to."

Alec nodded and let her go. "Thanks," he said before she was back inside.

-x-

 _In my office, now._ Alec read on his Contacts. He grunted and stood, heading to his father's office. He scanned his eye on the RetBox and the door popped open, letting him in.

"What is it?" he asked, as he noticed Avonlea was already sitting on the couch. He sat next to her, and their parents across from them.

"The next big step in this Selection is the Convicting," Theodore said.

"The what?" Alec said. "You can't be serious. We haven't done that in years."

"Actually," Beatrix said, "the last time was during your father's Selection. It's more a symbol than anything else."

Alec snorted. "A symbol of what?"

"A symbol that the next Princess and Empress will abide by the law." The Emperor said. "We are the law, Alec. You can't possibly have forgotten that."

"No, of course not," he mumbled. But how many times had he strayed from it? He was not a criminal. But he did sometimes do things he wasn't supposed to do, especially as a Royal, like get an Inktat, or smoke illegal cigarettes, or hire illegal hacker for small jobs.

"Good. Then Avonlea will explain the Convicting to the girls, and how important it is. The girls will be judging some of the leaders of the Time Hackers. They will carry out the sentences."

Alec chuckled.

"Something funny, Alec?" his mother asked.

"No, sorry." But in truth he was thinking of the sweet and innocent Korina sending one of the Time Hackers to the death sentence when she didn't want Calliope dead for hacking her. It was impossible.

"If they are not up to the task," Theodore said, "then they are not suited to be Empress." He sighed. "The job comes with some pretty gruesome aspects, and they need to know this. It's not just organizing events, or coming up with brilliant ideas. It requires a back spine to send someone to their death and their punishment."

Alec nodded. He knew this. "But isn't it too soon?"

"No," Beatrix said. "You have six remaining girls."

"Five," Alec mumbled.

"What?" Avonlea said. "Who did you kick out?"

"I didn't really kick her out," he tried to explain. "I merely gave her another option than having a broken heart."

"Katia?" Avonlea asked softly, and Alec nodded.

"Fine," Beatrix said. "Five remaining ladies. Maybe the Convicting will help you narrow them down even more."

Alec sighed and let his head drop on the pillow behind him. "Do we have to do this?"

"Yes."

-x-

The next morning, Avonlea was way too early in the Women's Room, preparing what she was about to tell them. Fifteen minutes later, the six girls arrived and sat around the table that had been prepared in the center of the room, all the couches and armchairs pushed to the side.

"Ladies," Avonlea said, once everyone was seated. "First, I would like to congratulate you all on your speeches and your ideas you exposed last night during the Report. I'm really proud of you and of what you have become and achieved in such a short time." She smiled and made eye contact with all of them. She sighed. "What I'm about to tell you is-" she paused. "How do I put this? This is the next big step in this Selection. And it's not an easy one."

"We already exposed our ideas to the public," Quinn said with a smirk. "What can be worse than that?"

The others chuckled.

"How about being the law?" Avonlea blurted out.

Six pairs of eyes full of question marks looked at her.

"Do you know what a Convicting is?" she asked.

The girls looked at each other.

"Isn't it when the judge gives a person his sentence?" Eryn asked.

"Yeah, more or less," Avonlea said. She explained to them what they had discussed the previous night in the Emperor's office. Katia and Korina were the most shaken of them.

"Do we really have to do this?" Korina asked.

The Princess sighed. "Yes. If you don't want to do this, you can tell Alec, and I'm afraid you'll have to go home. This is a must-do for a future Empress. We are the law, and thus we must abide by it and make others abide by it, too."

Everyone was silent. The Convicting was a huge bomb on all of them.

"You will be wearing white and gold gowns, and I'll gladly help you design them for you to 3D-print on your ScreenWardrobe. Of course, they have to be appropriate, no flirty low cleavage-y dresses, although I know you're not that type," she added, chuckling lightly. "We will be working on the Convicting ceremony for the next few days, and it will take place next Tuesday, so you have three days to prepare and learn your lines."

After their Saturday morning session, the girls all had some thinking to do and went all in separate ways to think alone. The Convicting was something big, and they had to do it if they wanted to marry Alec as some point. Only sending a person to his death, to jail, or to a lifetime of being a vegetable if the sentence chosen was to take out his memories, was not something done lightly.

"Korina? Are you okay?" Eryn asked as she joined her friend in one of the parlors.

Korina nodded.

"I know how this must be hard for you."

"I can't do it," she blurted out. "Remember when Calliope hacked me?"

"Yeah?"

"I didn't want her to die. And it was on me..."

Eryn sighed and put a hand on Korina, who flinched a little, but then relaxed. "I know. This is not a little thing. I don't know if I can do it either."

"Oh, Eryn..." Korina said. "You have to."

"But why?" Eryn said. "I'm not that strong."

"You have to be, Eryn," Korina said, taking both of Eryn's hands in hers. "You love him. And this is just another obstacle you have to overcome."

"But what about you?"

Korina shrugged. "I did love him. At least I thought I did," she chuckled, and Eryn noticed some pink coming in her cheeks.

"Oh, my God," Eryn said. "You love someone else. Who is he?"

"Please don't hate me, Eryn," Korina said, making a face. "But ever since the families came, I've had this- this crush on..." she trailed off. "Your brother," she whispered.

"Ezra?" Eryn exclaimed.

"Shhh!" Korina said. "And even when I told him I was not a human but an Android, he didn't run away. He even was more and more interested in me. And we've been communicating ever since."

"Wait. What?" Eryn said. "You sent messages out of the Palace? I thought they were blocked?"

Korina grinned. "I'm an Android, remember? Binary is my life. I'm not a hacker, but I am a computer."

Eryn burst out laughing. "Oh, my God, Korina! This is so great!"

The girl shrugged. "That's one more rival out of your way, right?"

Eryn rolled her eyes. "Are you kidding me? If you love Ezra and he loves you, that's going to make you my sister-in-law, no matter what!" And with that, she hugged Korina with all her strength.

"You have to win," Korina whispered in her friend's hair, still hugging her. "I love Quinn, but I'd rather bow to you."

Eryn chuckled. "Yeah, well. The final choice won't be mine, anyway," she said. Both girls looked at each other and smiled.

"I can't believe all this is happening," Korina finally said. "Who knew an Android like me would find friends, love, and a new life?"

"You're not completely out of trouble, yet," Eryn said. "With what you pulled off last night with clone rights? I mean- I'm with you the whole way. But I'm afraid not the whole country agrees with me, though. You're still going to hear about this for a long time."

"Yeah, I know," Korina said, sighing. "Maybe my ideas are too controversial to be an Empress, anyway." She chuckled.

-x-

When Korina went walked back to her room, later that afternoon, she found Alec talking with Katia in front of her room. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she had a pretty good idea what was happening. She waited for Alec to walk away from Katia to walk over to him.

"Hey, Korina," Alec said, taking her hand in his and kissing it. "Everything all right?"

She shrugged. "Can I talk to you?"

"Of course," he said, smiling.

"I can't do this," she blurted out. "The Convicting."

Alec's shoulders slumped a little, but he somehow knew this was coming. "I figured," he said. "You couldn't even condemn Calliope for what she had done to you."

Korina smiled sadly. "You know me pretty well," she said.

"That's what happens when you spend time with a person," he grinned. "So, I imagine you want to go home?" he asked softly, trying not to break down. That was two girls in less than an hour. Katia had already asked him to leave. First because of Grayson, then because of the Convicting.

"Yes," she said. "It'll be easier for you to choose. Only four girls left."

Alec sighed and looked away. "Sometimes I can't realize that this is almost over."

"No," Korina said. "It's not almost over. It's soon going to be the first day of the rest of your life. It may be the end of this chapter, but you're opening a whole new book. Marriage."

Alec smiled and squeezed her hand he was still holding. "Thanks," he said. "I hadn't seen it that way. But you're right."

This time, it was Korina who hugged him first. How far had she come on physical contact! When she had first arrived, she loathed to be touched. But now, she accepted who she was and people loved her for who she was, no matter what she was.

"Thank you for everything," she said as she took a step back. "I've learned so much and I feel like I'm going into a whole new life. My real body can die, I don't mind staying an Android all my life."

Alec smiled and quickly wiped away a tear, but not fast enough that Korina saw it. And she laughed softly.

"Oh, please, don't cry over me," she said. "I've never been happier in my life. I've finally accepted who I was, and that's thanks to you and the Selection." She let out a chuckled. "I can't believe I'm saying that."

"I'm really happy you're happy," he said. "And I'm really going to miss you, you know?"

"Me too," she said. "But if you end up marrying Eryn, we're going to see each other a lot."

Alec raised a curious eyebrow. "And why is that?"

"Well," she said, "I may or may not be _very_ close friends with her brother."

Alec laughed. "Seriously? I can't tell you how relieved I am," he said. "I didn't want you to go home heartbroken and alone. But if you have- what's his name, again?"

"Ezra."

"If you have Ezra, then I'm more than happy for you."

Korina grinned, said good bye for the moment and went to her room to pack her bags. Alec was left alone in the hall, and he headed upstairs to his own room. _Four girls left,_ he thought, falling down on his bed.

* * *

 _ **Heyyy! OMG only four girls left... *gasp* I hope you liked this chapter!**_

 _ **For the four remaining girls** (Addie, Eryn, Quinn and Thalia) **, could you post an outfit on the Pinterest board? White and gold outfits! thanks so much! :)**_

 _ **I never included the Convicting in my fanfics, but Booklovin'03 asked for it, so here you go ;)**_

 _ **Thanks to the 8 reviewers of the previous chapter! your reviews mean a lot to me ;) I can't believe this story is almost over! :(( But not quite yet ;)**_

 _ **and see you later for the next chapter! can't wait to read your reviews and what you thought ;) byeeee**_

* * *

 _ **SHOUT OUT:**_

 _ **If you have some time to look at Selected Princess At Heart's SYOC story called **The Twisted Path To A Life Of Love **, it would be great! It's Eadlyn's and Kyle's daughter, Princess Isabella (19 yo) who's having her Selection, so it's a male SYOC, and she still needs at least 9 characters! I submitted one, and if you can submit one too, that would be great! the story is really good, and well written ;) I can't wait to see my Gideon (my character) in it and what will happen to him ;) Go submit! it would mean a lot to her ;)**_

 _ **Thanks!**_


	43. Chapter 43

_**Before we start, I forgot to mention something in my previous author's note:**_

 _ **I wanted to say a special THANK YOU to**_ BookLovin'03 _ **and**_ ChillyIce _ **for creating Katia and Korina! I really enjoyed writing them into my story, and I hope you liked what they went through and how they ended, both with love!**_

* * *

 **Chapter 43**

Tuesday morning, almost four o'clock. Quinn stood in front of her ScreenWardrobe, waiting for her dress to finish 3D print. She had taken until two in the morning to design what she was going to wear. She wanting something regal, something elegant, and something that could persuade Alec to choose her. She knew she was up against some tough competition, and she was beginning to doubt. Did Alec love her? Did he know how much she loved him? Maybe exposing the Empress's brain Quant would help him see that she was the One for him. She sighed.

Two knocks on her door made her jump. She tiptoed to the door and opened it, only to find herself face to face with her toughest rival, and one of her best friends.

"Eryn?" she whispered, surprised. "What are you doing here?" she let her inside, welcoming her friend.

"I've been awake for hours," Eryn said. "I went for a walk to clear my mind, and I saw light under your door. Are you okay?"

Quinn shrugged and sat on her bed. "I haven't even been to bed, as you can see." The bed was still perfectly made.

Eryn frowned. "Why? What happened?"

Quinn looked away. "You're going to think I'm vain and stupid," she mumbled. "I designed my gown for the Convicting until two a.m., and now I'm waiting for it to 3D print. I hope it'll ready on time."

Eryn raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Can I see it?"

"I'd rather not," Quinn said. "I think it's better we all keep our dresses a surprise until the Convicting, don't you think?"

"Okay, if you want," Eryn said. She fell back on Quinn's bed. "Damn, I'm so nervous. My heartbeat has been racing ever since I woke up a couple hours ago. I'm afraid it's going to galop out of my chest."

"Shouldn't you go see Dr. Marshall? Maybe he can give you something to calm down."

"I don't want to wake him up for this. And I'd rather have all my wits and my head for the Convicting."

Quinn chuckled and yawned at the same time. "It's only in the afternoon. You'll have plenty of time to recover form a pill."

Eryn closed her eyes and forced her heart to slow down. "Do you think it's going to be awful?" she asked, ignoring what Quinn had just said.

Quin was silent. She went to the window and looked at the ever-lit city at their feet. "I don't know," she finally said. "This is one of the biggest tests in this Selection."

The two friends were silent for a long moment, both lost in their thoughts.

"Eryn?" Quinn said softly walking back to her bed, but there was no answer. Eryn had fallen asleep at some point, and Quinn lay down beside her, staring at the canopy in the dim morning light, "I'm scared," she whispered to her sleeping friend. "I'm scared of what's going to happen to us once Alec made his choice..." she trailed off. "Are we still going to be friends?" She let her question hang in the air as she closed her eyes, finallyfalling asleep after a sleepless night.

A couple hours later, Quinn's maid came in and found both girls asleep in the bed. She chuckled and called Eryn's maid so she didn't have to worry about her Lady.

-x-

The girls had the morning off to prepare for the Convicting in the afternoon, and they all decided to stay in their rooms to prepare: recite their lines, make sure their outfits were ready, and to calm down.

Thalia's hands were trembling as she held her paper cards with her lines. How could she condemn a person to his death or worse? Was she any better than them? She was not a criminal, but she wasn't perfect either. But for Alec's sake and for her love for him, she would have to do it. She didn't have a choice.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, My Lady," her maid said, "but someone is knocking on your door. Should I go see who it is, or do you want to go yourself?"

Thalia shook her head. "You can go," she said. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to make her hands stops shaking. She heard footstep behind her and she turned around. "Alec?"

"Hey," he said, sitting on the couch next to her, putting a flat black box next to him. "How are you?"

She held her hands firmly together to hide their trembling. "Fine," she blurted out. At the moment, she was wearing a simple beige skirt, a black top, and black flats, and Alec thought that this was the prettiest outfit he had seen her wear.

He grinned. "I have something for you," he said. "It's tradition that the Prince to offer jewelry to the Selected for the Convicting, and you have to wear them this afternoon."

Thalia nodded. "Okay..." she trailed off.

Alec took the black velvet box and gave it to Thalia. "Open it," he said.

Thalia had to unclench her hands to open the box and Alec noticed they were trembling, but only slightly now. His heart broke and went out to hers. He took her hands in one of his. "Let me do it," he said softly. He knew what it was like to be anxious and to have to hide it. And he knew Thalia was prone to anxiety. He didn't want to be the one to push her down the hill. She smiled and nodded as he opened the box.

On the black velvet laid a golden necklace with a golden pendant made of tiny golden circles held together by their own will. Two matching earrings lay in the middle of the square box, and a thin, long, golden bracelet with tiny little golden circles awaited on the side.

"It's beautiful," she breathed out. "And so thin and perfect."

Alec grinned. _Just like you,_ he wanted to say, but didn't. "Here, let me help you." He took the necklace and tied it around Thalia's neck. With a trembling hand, she reached for the golden pendant and observed it up close.

"It's beautiful," she said again.

"Please tell me it will go with your outfit," he said, knowing too well, thanks to having a fashionista sister, that an outfit could be quickly ruined with the wrong accessory.

"It'll be perfect," she said, and looked up to Alec, who was already staring at her. Their gazes met, and they were frozen for a short moment, before Alec leaned in until his lips touched hers. His mind didn't think of anything else as he tasted her lips for the first time. Then he suddenly remembered what the occasion was – the Convicting – and pulled away.

"I'm sorry," he said. "Maybe this wasn't the best moment, I-"

"Alec," she said, putting a non-trembling hand on his cheek. "This was exactly what I needed. I was so nervous about everything, but..." she trailed off, taking a deep breath. "I think I needed this to get through this afternoon."

He smiled softly, looking at her gorgeous hazel eyes. He gently pushed a strand of hair out of her face and behind her ear. "Well," he said. "If you need any other help, just say the word," he said, smirking. He sighed. "I have to go deliver my other gifts," he said. "You were the first one."

She nodded and smiled, embarrassed. "Thanks," she said. "I'll see you for lunch?"

He nodded and placed a kiss on her forehead before standing up and leaving. He had three other girls to see before said lunch.

He knocked on the next door, and a pale Addison opened it. "Oh, Alec," she said, letting him in. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" She forced a smile.

"With the Convicting coming up shortly, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I know this is not an easy task..." he trailed off.

"No, it isn't," she said, sitting on the side of her bed, forgetting her manners. "I have to admit I'm very nervous."

Alec nodded and sat beside her. "I very much understand that," he said. He only now noticed she was wearing a light blue Peter Pan collar dress without sleeves, and it suited her very much.

"I- uh..." he chuckled. "I have something for you, actually." And again, he explained how it was customary for the Prince to offer jewelry to the Selected before the Convicting and that they had to wear it. He handed her a black flat velvet box and Addison took it on her lap to open it.

It was a set of jewels – necklace, earrings, and bracelet – made of big white pearls and a golden bow in the midst of those pearls. She gasped at the sight.

"Oh, my!" she said, running her fingers on the pearls. "It's perfect," she said with a blush creeping up in her cheeks.

"I'd thought you'd like them," Alec said, taking the bracelet and offering to fasten is around her wrist. "I just hope it'll go well with your outfit."

"Of course, it will," she said and smiled, revealing two perfect dimples in her cheeks. Again, Alec's heart fluttered and he realized how close he was to the end of the Selection. One of these four ladies was going to be his bride. He was torn apart ending things quickly and choosing the one he loved, and letting doubt fill his heart and take more time to make sure the One he chose would be the right one. But can one be perfectly sure?

"How are you feeling for the Convicting?" he asked.

"Dreadfully nervous," she said. "Who am I to judge a person?" she asked softly.

Alec nodded, understanding all too well what she was dealing with. He took a deep breath. "These people who will be judge deserve their punishment," he finally said. "Never forget that. And you're not the judge. You're merely telling him the judge's sentence."

Addison sighed. "But why us? Can't the judge do that himself?"

"Yes," Alec said. "But not for the Convicting. It's a way to show the people that you're ready to endorse the law, and be the law, if you end up being the next Princess and Empress." He paused. "I wished I didn't need to represent the law," he mumbled, and Addison chuckled.

She slipped her hand in his. "I can't even begin to imagine the weight you carry on your shoulders, Alec. I hope you'll trust me to carry it with you, if you chose me."

Alec smiled. Damn. Doubt was making its way in his heart. "I'll keep that in mind," he said, lightly squeezing her hand. "I'm not the kind to unload myself on others. I usually carry my own burdens." He chuckled. "I guess that will have to change."

Addison smiled and nodded.

Alec then went on to the next lady, Quinn. He knocked on her door and was met by her maid. "She's sleeping, Your Highness," she said. "Should I wake her?"

Alec shook his head. "No, I'll do it. I'm afraid I can't delay my visit." Time was short before lunch, and there was still Eryn after that. He walked into her room and tiptoed on the white plush carpet. She was beautiful, when sleeping, so at peace. He stayed there, staring at her. Could it be her, the woman next to whom he would sleep and wake up every day? He took a sharp intake of breath and walked over to the bed. He sat next to her, and softly pushed away some hair from her face, his fingers lingering on her skin. She was wearing a simple short spaghetti strap red dress and Alec's eyes went down to her long and perfect legs for a moment.

Her eyes fluttered open, and she stirred. "Alec?" she said sleepily. "What are you doing here? Oh, my God, what time is it? Did I miss the Convicting?" she said, stress scrunching her brow, as she tried to get up.

"Hey, chill," Alec said, helping her back down on the bed, gently pressing her shoulders. "Everything's fine. It's just an hour before lunch, you didn't miss anything." He let go of her when she had relaxed and was lying back down. "You look tired," he said.

"Thanks," she answered. "I didn't really sleep last night, and now you've woken me in the middle of my nap," she added with a sly grin, pushing him playfully. "So it's your fault."

Alec chuckled. "Do you really think a Princess can sleep the day away if she didn't sleep during the night?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yes?" Quinn said. "No? I don't know." She pressed the palms of her hands on her eyes. "Of course not. Why would she?"

Alec took one of her hands in his. "I've got something for you," he said, giving her a large flat black velvet box. Probably the biggest box out of the four.

Quinn sat up against the pillows. "What is it?"

"A customary gift before the Convicting. And you'll be asked to wear it for the Convicting."

Quinn raised an inquiring eyebrow and open the box. "Holy- Oh, my God!" She exclaimed. "You can't be serious. I can't wear this..." she trailed off, running her fingers on the gold squares making the necklace, earrings and bracelet. "So much gold," she whispered in awe.

"48 carats," he said. "All the other jewelry you've worn until now were fake ones. But this one is authentic, and yours to keep."

Quinn was speechless in front of such generosity from the Prince.

"I hope it'll be okay to wear with your outfit," he said, embarrassed. "Since I had no idea what any of you were wearing, I had to improvise."

"It's perfect," she said. "Thank you." With that, she climbed on his lap and kissed him. Slowly and tenderly at first, and then Alec replied with passion and force, both ending lying in the bed, he on top of her, kissing her neck and every bare inch of skin. She gasped and pulled him closer to him.

With all the will he could muster, he broke away enough to look at her face. "I have to go," he said not very convincingly.

Quinn sighed. "Must you?"

"Yeah," he said, kissing her again. "I currently have four girlfriends, I'm afraid."

Quinn nodded, unamused. "Right."

Alec pulled himself away from Quinn and forced himself to walk away. He had one more delivery to make. Why was it harder and harder to go from one to the other? But themoment he stepped into Eryn's room and saw her sweet smile and her blue eyes, all thoughts of anything else flittered away. It was just him and her, and there was no one else.

"Hey there," he said with a smirk. He grabbed her hand and elegantly kissed the back of it. "How are you feeling?"

She shrugged, but couldn't wash away the grin on her face. "I'm fine," she said. _Now that you're here,_ she didn't add, though. And she had asked her maid to cover up the dark circles under her eyes. Even though she knew there was no fooling the Prince. "I didn't get as much sleep as I wanted, but I'll manage."

Alec sighed. He knew how hard this was for them, especially for Eryn. Her kind heart was what had pulled him to her in the first place, and it broke his heart to know she had to do the Convicting. They sat on the loveseat in her room, his arm around her shoulders and her head against his chest. They were silent for a moment, enjoying each other's reassuring presence.

"I'm not sure I can go through with it, you know?" she suddenly whispered, not looking up.

"You have to," Alec replied. "Because if you don't…" he trailed off, not wanting to say it out loud.

"You'll kick me out?" she offered, looking up to his beautiful face.

Alec gritted his teeth. "Yes, even though that's the last thing I want to do. You have to do this, Eryn." He was almost pleading with her, now. "I can't bear to lose you."

Eryn shifted in his arms and straightened, her face level with his. "You really mean it?" she whispered.

Alec nodded, his gaze locked with hers. "I can't lose you," he said again. This time, she was the one to lean in and kiss him. And right now, nothing else mattered. He kissed her tenderly, enjoying every second of it. His fingers got lost in her hair she had let down, and he held her close. The thought of losing her was unacceptable.

After a moment, he broke off the kiss. "I have something for you," he said, still a little out of breath. "It's a customary gift to the Selected before a Convicting. And you'll have to wear it for the occasion."

Eryn raised a curious eyebrow. "What is it?"

Alec took the black flat velvet box and held it on his lap. "Before you open it, I just want you to know that all the gifts were supposed to cost more or less the same… But yours was practically half, I'm afraid…" he trailed off, not knowing how else to put this. "I just didn't want any other for you. I tried looking for something else, but it always came back to this." He sighed and gave her the box.

Eryn was now smirking. "You know I don't care how much a gift costs," she said, placing a light kiss on his lips. "As long as it's from you." She opened the box and choked back a sob. "Oh my goodness, Alec. It's so beautiful!"

On the black velvet were a trio of matching jewelry – earrings, necklace and bracelet – all designed after bees and honeycombs. There even was a golden bee with a yellow Imperial Topaz making its small body.

"And I decided to add this," he said, giving her a small package, "to be fair to everyone."

She took the small present and opened it. It was a picture frame with a picture of her and Alec during their cruise. Eryn grinned. "This means so much more to me than the customary gift," she said.

"I know," Alec nodded, pulling Eryn close to him. "I knew you'd like it. And I have the same picture in my room."

"You do?"

He nodded and they both stared at the picture in her hands. They had been snapped unawares by Chris, both laughing and looking at each other as if there was no one else near them.

 _Where are you? You're late for lunch._ He read on his contacts from Avonlea.

"I think we should go. We're already late for lunch…" he said, but not moving in the least...

* * *

 _ **Hey! so here's another chapter for you ;) i hope you enjoyed it!**_

 _ **Alec is being torn apart, and the end is close!**_

 _ **next chapter will be the Convicting** (still waiting for Addison's outfit...) **and you can go check on the boards the Jewelry Alec chose for the girls ;)**_

 _ **see you soon!**_


	44. Chapter 44

**Chapter 44**

No one could eat more than a few bites of their lunch. Nervousness and stress ate at all the stomachs instead. And no one was talking either, either focusing on their lines or, for Alec, a more imminent decision, one that would change his life forever. The girls were excused to go change and get ready for the Convicting, which would be held an hour later.

They silently went to their rooms and started changing in their custom design gowns. Quinn was ready relatively quickly, and took the last half hour before the Convicting to sit on the windowsill and rehearse her lines. She wanted them to be perfect. She wanted to be perfect for Alec. She didn't want to give him any doubt that she couldn't be a perfect Empress.

Two sharp knocks on her door made her jump slightly. She pinched her cheeks to redden them to be ready for Alec.

"Miss Elisabeth?" she heard, but it was not Alec. She quickly got off the windowsill and curtsied to the Empress.

"Your Majesty," Quinn said.

"You and I need to talk, Elisabeth," Beatrix said, ignoring the woman's wish to be called by her second name, Quinn.

"Of course," Quinn said, inviting the Empress to sit on the couch. "Shall I call for tea?" the nervous selected asked.

"That won't be necessary," she Empress said, in a tone indicating that she wanted to get to the core of the matter rapidly. She was dressed in a white dress with a very low and narrow cleavage, the V ending with some gold accessory. Her sleeves were as big as wings and Quinn could not comprehend how they held in place. Beatrix looked at Quinn with such arrogance, that the poor girl felt tiny next to the most powerful woman in Illéa. Beatrix smirked.

"I understand you've been trying to access a computer, Elisabeth," she said, not beating around the bush. "I've sensed you trying multiple times, without daring going any further. Why haven't you?"

Quinn's color left her face. "I- I-" she stammered in the face of the mighty Empress. "I didn't think it would be appropriate."

"But still you tried," Beatrix pushed further.

"Yes," Quinn admitted.

"Why?"

Quinn didn't answer right away. If she lied about Alec telling her about his mother maybe having a brain quant, Beatrix would know it instantly. There was no point in lying. But there was still a way to save Alec. "I suspected you had a brain quant, Your Majesty. And I didn't want to make false accusations without being sure of it."

"So you tried to make sure."

"Yes."

"Does anyone else suspect this?"

"No," Quinn said, a little too fast. "No one."

Beatrix eyed her suspiciously, but Quinn was used to lie, or at least alter the truth. Hadn't she been hiding her true profession to everyone – except Alec?

"Very well," Beatrix said. "But you will stop trying. I'm not sure my husband will appreciate his son choosing a Technology Intelligence Agent as his wife," she said.

"Alec already knows that," Quinn said, lifting her chin. "I don't hide anything from him."

Beatrix raised an eyebrow.

"Except for my suspicions," she quickly added.

"I'm sure Alec knows about your secrets. But the Emperor will not tolerate it, and neither will he tolerate your father's secrets…" she trailed off, leaving the threat to hang in the air.

"Of course," Quinn said. "Your secret is safe with me, Your Majesty."

"Excellent," Beatrix said, standing up. "Then the matter is settled," she continued, in a much friendlier tone. "Good luck for the Convicting."

"Thank you," Quinn said, curtsying, as the Empress left her room. Now her hands were trembling. How foolish she had been to try to access her brain quant. Of course, she would have known. And of course, Quinn had to push her luck to try not twice, but tree times! She squeezed her eyes shut.

"Stupid stupid stupid," she muttered under her breath. At least she was able to keep Alec away from this crap. And now she really had to be careful, or her father could be in big trouble. He knew things he shouldn't, and so did she.

She went to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror, trying to compose herself and recite her lines. Until her maid told her it was time to go. Quinn took a deep breath and let it out very slowly.

"Okay," she said more to herself than to her maid. "I'm ready."

-x-

The girls waited just outside the Grand Ball room that had been transformed for the Convicting. Avonlea gave them all an Olive branch.

"You'll place it at the feet of the Emperor and then go your seat," she said. "Once the first one is seated, the next comes in, and so forth. Thalia, you'll go first, then Quinn, Addison and Eryn." She paused, looking at the nervous girls. "Any questions?"

All shook their heads, too stressed to say the words out loud.

"Good. I'll go sit next to Alec and Austin, and Chris will lead you and tell you what to do."

Just then, Chris arrived, ready to let Avonlea go and take care of the girls.

Beatrix and Theodore were sitting in the center of a newly installed stage, the Royal kids on the right, a little behind, and the Selected girls' seats mirroring them. Theodore was wearing a very elegant white suit, and so were Alec and Austin. Avonlea was breathtaking in her simple high-neck white gown, low under the arms and high in the front, revealing her ankles and golden pumps, and a long train behind her.

When everyone was seated – the audience was filled with Twos, Foreign Dignitaries, and advisors and close friends of the Royal Family. And journalists with dozens of HovoCams hovering all around the huge room.

Thalia entered, her head high, and shoulders straight, just like Avonlea had taught them. She was wearing an asymmetrical white gown with a golden leaf on her shoulder. She walked elegantly to the center of the stage and put the Olive branch at the Emperor's feet. He nodded to her with a warm smile and she went to sit down. Quinn followed, and quickly glanced at the Empress before leaving to her seat, followed by Addison and Eryn. No incident there.

Two men entered, bringing the first criminal.

"Camber Smith," they announced as they made him kneel at the front of the room. Thalia walked to stand in front of him, but not too close, either, her back to the Monarchs.

"Camber Smith, what is your crime?" she asked, her voice slightly trembling.

"Time Hacking," he said through gritted teeth. "And child kidnapping."

"And what is your sentence?"

"Death," he replied, meeting her straight in the eyes, daring her to falter.

"Go, faithful subject, and pay your dept to the Emperor."

Camber Smith snorted and resisted the two men taking him away. But they were stronger and more in number than him and quickly took him away.

The next man was brought in. He couldn't be more than twenty years old. Quinn, wearing a long lace gown with two slits up to her thighs, squared her shoulders and looked at the young man's emerald green eyes, and she feared her resolve might waver. But she closed her fists to focus. She knew she couldn't fail.

"Felix Ross, what is your crime?"

"Time hacking and selling children," he said, meeting her gaze, not at all ashamed of his doings.

Quinn swallowed with difficulty. "And what is your sentence?"

"Death, and I'm not afraid of it."

She squeezed her fists shut. "Then go, faithful subject, and pay your dept to the Emperor."

Felix Ross smiled maniacally and let his two guards take him away. For some reason, his attitude unnerved Quinn. She went back to her seat as the third man was taken in. This time, it was a much older man, maybe in his sixties. He could have been Addison's grandfather. She quickly glanced at Alec who nodded encouragingly. She stood as tall as she could in a white brocade dress blooming from her waist down like a flower. She had a low V-neckline and long sleeves. She was the epitome of elegance.

"Heath Carne," she said, her voice almost breaking. "What is your crime?"

"Time Hacking, selling children," he paused, "and abusing them."

Addison gasped but tried to stay focused. Her mouth was dry, and everyone in the room was looking at her, holding their breaths.

"What is your sentence?" she finally managed to say.

"Death," he whispered.

This man revulsed Addison, and she thought she was going to puke. "Go, faithful subject," she said with a trembling voice, "and pay your dept to the Emperor." But she couldn't hold it in anymore. She ran to the doors and vomited in the hall. Everyone heard, including Heath Carne and the other Criminals waiting to be taken away. They sniggered.

Theodore made a gesture indicating that the Convicting should proceed without further ado.

It was Eryn's turn; she was wearing a strapless white gown, gathered with golden stones at her waist, and golden lace sleeves all the way down to the floor. She looked like a Greek goddess. Two guards brought in the fourth and last Criminal.

"Finnick Ford," they announced.

Eryn's eyes grew wide.

"Finn?" she whispered. "What the hell…"

Finnick Ford couldn't look at Eryn. How the hell did that happen? They had been best friends in elementary school, and had taken different paths in middle school, when Finnick's family moved to another Procinve and had never seen each other since. But both knew that this was not a coincidence.

Alec noticed something was wrong, but he couldn't do anything.

"Finnick Ford, what is your crime?" Eryn asked, knots tying her stomach.

Finnick sighed. "Time Hacking."

Eryn almost breathed out a relief. He was 'just' a time hacker, and not a child molester.

"And what is your sentence?"

"Death," he muttered, looking away.

"I'm sorry, what?" Eryn said. Surely, he didn't deserve to die if he was only hacking Time? But then she remembered he was part of the whole thing, too.

"Death," he said louder, meeting her gaze. "And I'm not the only going there," he said standing up. Even though he had his hands tied together, he managed to take out something small in his pocket. A pen. I simple pen.

Alec recognized it instantly didn't think twice. He jumped from his seat and tackled Eryn, rolling away from Finnick. He lay on top of her, his arms around her head, protecting her from the explosion that occurred not two seconds later. The pen had been the trigger. A loud ringing deafened Alec as he looked at a terrorized Eryn beneath him.

"Are you okay?" he yelled, but he didn't hear her answer, although he could see her lips moving. A moment later, strong hands pulled him away from Eryn, and that's when he noticed the smoke all around the room, people running and moving and screaming, but he couldn't hear anything, beside the buzzing in his head. He looked around him, and to his father for guidance, but the Emperor was kneeling next to a woman in white on the floor, a red flower growing by the second on her dress. He seemed to be screaming something, but the ringing in Alec's ear was still strongly present. Before running to his father, he made sure Eryn was in a safe place. She was with Chris and another guard and they were taking her and the other girls away, to a safe room. He ran to his mother's side, but clearly, she was already gone. She didn't even look like herself, anymore. The bomb must have been set under their thrones, and she got the most of it.

The ringing started to subside, and he could finally hear sounds again.

"Alec!" someone shouted.

Alec turned around to see Chris pulling him away to the safe room where the girls had been taken. He let Chris take him away, too numb and shaken to do anything else. What had just happened? It all occurred too fast. Maybe only a minute had passed since he tackled Eryn. And that was a good thing, because she was standing just in front of the thrones. She would have died, too.

Alec ignored everything around him and sat on the floor leaning, against the wall. People were moving around him, a bottle of water was handed to him, and he took it without even thinking. Something wet and warm trickled down his neck and he reached up with his hand. One of his ears was bleeding. He shrugged. That could easily be cured and healed with Nano-Tech medicine. He pulled up his legs and rested his arms on his knees, looking at the floor.

Someone sat next to him. "You okay?"

Alec looked up to see his little brother. He shook his. "Mom's dead," was all he managed to say.

Austin's shoulders slumped and he quickly put a hand to his mouth to smother a sob.

Both brothers wondered why their father hadn't been brought to the safe room already. Maybe he way dead, too. Or maybe he was about to die. Or simply he didn't want to be away from his wife.

Three hours passed before a group of the most trusted guards, the Royal Guards, came to the safe room to let everyone know that it was now safe to go back to the Palace. Everyone stirred and walked away. But not Alec. Whatever waited for him there was not good. The burden of being the next Emperor sooner than expected was impending. And the later he could face with that, the better it was. He sat motionless on the floor.

A moment later – a dozen minutes? An hour? Two? He couldn't say – someone came back to the safe room.

"Alec?" It was a voice he knew too well. He looked up to see Chris. "You have to come," he said firmly but gently.

Alec took a deep breath. "Just tell me," he said. "My father?"

"Alive, for now," Chris said. "He was also wounded, and Medics are taking care of him."

"And my mother?" he asked, although he already knew the answer.

Chris shook his hand. He offered Alec his hand to help him stand up and they walked away. Alec's suit was rumpled and out of order, but he didn't care. There was dust, and blood, and chaos everywhere.

"How did that happen?" Alec whispered.

Chris sighed.

"Everyone was searched before coming in," he said. "we never thought to look the thrones. No one had access to them."

"But someone did," Alec stated the obvious.

"Yes. And it can only be someone from the Palace. We still have to find the traitor. But we will find him. Or her."

Alec looked sharply at Chris. "It can't be one of the Selected."

"Right now," Chris said, "We're not excluding anything. But I don't think they were in on it."

"Of course not," Alec said. They arrived at the hospital Wing where his father was being taken care of. The best doctors in Illéa had been summoned. "What are his chances?" he asked Dr. Marshall who was waiting for them.

"Good," he replied. "At least physically. But the loss of his wife… your Mother… I'm afraid he won't recover from that." He looked at Alec. "My deepest condolences, Your Highness."

"Thank you," Alec mumbled. His father wouldn't wake up before an hour or so. But he had to meet with his advisors. They were all waiting for him in his father's conference room. They all stood when he entered, Chris on his heels. Chris' father was there, too, along with Sir Markus, Mikeal Bacchian and John Vinsent.

"Gentlemen," Alec said, sitting down, and they followed suit, sitting down, too.

"Your Highness? May I?" Bacchian, head of Security asked.

Alec nodded. He wasn't in the mood of wasting words in small talk.

"Well, first of all, I speak in the name of all us here, Your Highness. We offer you our deepest condolences for the loss of your Mother, and our beloved Empress." Alec nodded. "What happened today is a tragedy. And an affront to the Monarchy. Whoever did this will be found and punished."

Alec sighed and waved his words away. "Get to the point, Bacchian. What happens now?"

Bacchian looked around him to the other advisors, who nodded. "We have to prepare for the worst. Your father will survive his wounds, but not the loss of his wife."

"So I'm told," Alec said coldly.

"Your Highness," another advisor said. "You have to prepare to step up at any moment's notice. Your father may want to step down soon." He gave Alec an official paper document, signed and sealed by the Emperor himself. Alec took it and read it, dreading what he would find.

 _July 30th, year 2638_

Alec frowned. It was dated a few weeks ago. Well after the Selection started. He continued reading.

 _In lieu of a direct offense to the Empress, should I live, I, Emperor Theodore Eugene Schreave, will step down and give the ruling Crown to my eldest son, His Royal Highness Prince Alec Nathan Schreave, without any delay._

 _In lieu of a direct offense to the Emperor, should I live, I, Empress Beatrix Emilia Schreave, will step down and give the ruling Crown to my eldest son, His Royal Highness Prince Alec Nathan Schreace and his chosen wife, without any delay._

 _In lieu of a direct offense to the Crown, where we, Emperor Theodore Eugene and Beatrix Emilia Schreave do not survive, we give the ruling Crown to our eldest son, His Royal Highness Prince Alec Nathan Schreave, without delay._

Alec stopped reading. He quickly skimmed the rest of the document, stating that in case he died, Avonlea would succeed, and in case both he and Avonlea died, Austin would succeed. The document was signed by both his parents. Alec sighed and put the paper down slowly.

"So, if I understand correctly," he said, "I will step up on my father's throne without delay?" his blue gaze was ice cold, and he frowned.

"Yes, Your Majesty," the advisor who gave him the document said. "You are now the ruling Emperor of Illéa."

Alec scoffed. That was not how he imagined it would be.

"Long live the Emperor," the advisor said, and all repeated it three times.

Once that was said, Alec shifted in his seat. "We have to talk about the Empress' funeral."

* * *

 _ **Heyyy!**_

 _ **so yeah, a very quick update! But that's because I'm leaving tonight for a few days and I won't have my computer with me, so I wanted to give you something before I left ;) I hope you liked this chapter, and OMG... I can't process what happened... Damn...**_

 _ **can't wait to read your comments on this!**_

 _ **see you soon! byeeee!**_


	45. Chapter 45

**Chapter 45**

"I wish it could rain," Austin mumbled as his mother's coffin was lowered into the ground. Royals couldn't be incinerated like most other people. Their bodies were conserved as best as possible, put into a plexiglass coffin and buried. There was a special cemetery on the Palace grounds where dozens of other royals were already buried.

"Why?" Avonlea said. "We would all be wet."

"It feels as if the Universe isn't sad. If feels wrong," he replied, still mumbling.

Alec ignored everyone around him, and let silent tears stream down his cheeks. She probably wouldn't have had the Mother-Of-The-Year award, but she was still his mother. And now that Theodore was stepping down, Alec was left alone on the top of the world. At least, before, he could look up and see his father, do like him and pretend everything was fine. Now the only person he was looking up to was himself. But who, at the age of twenty-five was ready to lead a whole country? But then again, his own father was much younger when his father died. He was barely twenty. Alec could do this. He had to.

He swallowed back his tears, wiped them angrily away and stared at the ground. One by one, the people shoveled a handful of dirt on the see-through coffin in the ground, a few-centuries-old tradition. Alec didn't even know why they were doing this. He threw in his share of the dirt and walked away, flanked by four Security Details, at his father's request: two at his sides, one in front and one behind.

Once inside the Palace, only one stayed with him, the others stayed near the Vacuum on the fifteenth floor. The last one stood vigil at his door. Alec closed the door behind him and took off his fitted black suit. There was work to do. He grabbed the tablet waiting for him on his desk, kicked his shoes off, propped himself on his bed, and went through the rest of the day's schedule. The whole country was in mourning, but he couldn't afford to do it. Or he would lose his mind.

He swiped through the documents he had to read and chose one at random.

"Budget cuts," he mumbled, skimming the report. He took the next one. "Budget cuts again." He sighed and took the next one. He frowned, reading the first few lines. It was news about the attack and who might be behind it. He read with more attention. Apparently, the person who planted the bomb was inside the Palace before everyone else, probably even working in the Palace. He – or she – was with the group of Time Hackers who had been caught and wanted to make the Emperor pay. Alec rolled his eyes. "Idiots," he muttered. _At the moment, we are still trying to identify the bomber_ , Alec read. "No shit," he said.

He swiped to the next document and was surprised to see pros and cons for all four remaining Elite. "What the hell?" Alec said, then chuckled humorlessly. "They want me to choose fast." He threw the tablet at the foot of his bed and pressed his palms of his hands on his eyes. He sighed, and stayed like that for some time.

A knock on his door made him jump. "What do you want?" he asked, grumpily.

The door opened and Austin and Avonlea came in.

"Are you okay?" his sister asked.

Alec scoffed. "Never been better," he replied sarcastically, not looking up.

Austin and Avonlea both joined Alec on the huge king-size bed, both in their black funeral clothes. All three stared at the ceiling above, silent.

Austin sighed. "I still can't believe this is happening," he says, almost whispering. "I'm always waiting for her to appear around a corner, scold me and walk away. But she doesn't."

No one answered. They knew the feeling all too well.

"What now?" Austin asked after a while.

"We go on living, I guess," Avonlea said, before letting go of a choking sob. She covered her mouth to smolder it, but it was too late.

"Hey, hey, hey," Alec said softly, wrapping his strong arms around his little sister. "It's going to be okay, Aves," he whispered in her hair, trying to soothe her. She buried her face in his chest and sobbed openly. To be honest, Alec and Austin were the only people she accepted to cry in front of. Not even Alistair. At least not yet.

Avonlea was nestled against Alec and let her grief stream out of her. Austin cried silently, his chest shaking as he swallowed back the sobs. From the corner of his eye, Alec noticed it. He wrapped an arm around his brother's shoulders and held his twin siblings close to him, both shaking and crying on his chest. Avonlea and Austin were glad to be able to be children again, to have a shoulder to cry on.

But what about Alec? When and with whom could he grieve? For now, it would have to wait. And he would have to do it alone. Later.

Avonlea cried herself to sleep, safe in Alec's arms, and Austin didn't dare move. He hoped time would stop if he didn't move. Even his breathing was slow and mindful.

Alec checked the time on the right bottom corner of his vision on his Contacts. One hour, since his siblings joined him. He knew he couldn't spare any more time, because duty called. But he couldn't find it in his heart to break the cherished moment with them and wake up Avonlea.

Thankfully, he didn't have to do it, because there was a knock on his door, making all three of them jump.

"Who is it?" Alec called out from his bed.

"Chris," the voice answered. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah," Alec replied, and Chris came in.

"Oh, wow," he said, seeing the three royal offspring cuddled together on the bed. "Am I interrupting something?"

Avonlea sat up and shook her head. "No. I was leaving, anyway," she lied. She ran a hand on her cheeks, and they were salty and sticky. "I need to freshen up," she said, making her way to the door. Austin followed her quickly after, leaving Alec alone with Chris.

Chris stayed standing, his hands in his pockets. "I'm afraid you're waited in the conference room," he said. "Tomorrow's your Coronation, and there are still some things you need to go over with your advisors."

Alec scoffed. "First thing I do when I'm officially Emperor is change that lot of advisors."

Chris cleared his throat. "I would advise against it," he said. "For now, they're your best shot. They've been assisting your dad for a long time, and your father trusted them with his life."

Alec rolled his eyes and climbed out of bed. He put his shoes back on and was about to put his suit coat back on when Chris chuckled.

"What?" Alec asked dryly.

"Sorry," Chris said. "But you may want to change your shirt. Avonlea's makeup is all over it."

Alec looked down at his chest and sighed. "Right." He changed and then went to the Conference room, Chris and two Security Details on his heels. When he arrived in the room, all the advisors – men and woman in an equal number – stood and nodded to their new unofficial Emperor. They sat only when Alec sat.

Alec looked up, surveying the room. "I've been reading some of the reports you gave me to read, he started. But there was none on tomorrow's Coronation. Please enlighten me on the matter."

The advisors exchanged glances. "Your Majesty, if I may," a lady on his left says. Alec nods. "We wanted to talk about the Coronation face to face. Even on the secured network there could be unwanted eyes. We don't want anything to happen during the event."

"Of course," Alec said. Somehow, he couldn't brush away the frown that adorned his forehead since the aftermath of the Convicting. His blue gaze was was cold, and most of the advisors couldn't look him in the eye. "Then let's talk. But if, as you say, anything happens, we'll know where to look to rat out the mole." He nodded, inviting them to explain what would happen. Alec tried to focus with all his might, but his mind was elsewhere.

Two hours later, the meeting was over and Alec walked away without a word. He checked the time on his Contacts and noticed there were still two hours before dinner. There was still some time. And now that he was constantly flanked by at least two Security Details, he couldn't slip away on a ride in the countryside. He was imprisoned in the Palace. And he knew it. He headed to the Vacuum with his two shadows – one of them was Jasper Baldwin – and ordered the roof. The two Security guards stayed on either side of the Vacuum door, leaving Alec alone for a moment.

Without even thinking, he headed into the greenhouse and closed the door behind him, inhaling the combination of all the medicinal plants he gave to Eryn. He walked around, brushing his fingers on the delicate leaves and flowers. After making a complete tour of the greenhouse, he leaned against the wall and slowly slid to the floor. He rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes.

Without warning, sobs rattled his body. He buried his head in his hands, wailing. He knew no one would hear him hear. His heart was breaking and the weight of his new responsibilities too heavy on his young shoulders. He cried without a care in the world.

When suddenly he felt a light hand on his shoulder. He didn't look up, but felt someone sitting down next to him and gathering him in her arms. He didn't have to look up to know it was Eryn. Her perfume was unmistakable, and she was the only one to come here, in her garden.

She rocked him gently back in forth as he cried silently in her lap, holding onto her like to an anchor. If it wasn't for her, he would surely have drowned. She drew soothing circled on his back and whispered in his ear. He didn't hear all of it, deafened by his own grief, but the sound and the attention were enough to help him calm down.

After a while, the sobs lessened, and he slowly composed himself. He looked up at Eryn, who also had teary cheeks. She smiled sadly and wiped the tears on his face with her thumbs. "Feeling a little better?" she asked softly.

Alec nodded. "Yeah," he breathed out. "Thanks." He tried a smile for her sake, but it turned out upside down. He rubbed his face with his hands and ran his fingers in his unruly hair. He took a sharp breath and let it out slowly. When he dropped his hands in his lap, she laced her fingers with his and gently rubbed the back of his hand with her thumb.

"What am I gonna do?" he suddenly said. "Tomorrow is the Coronation. And then what?"

"Then, you go on with your life. You take on your responsibilities and you let me- I mean, us, the Elite, take care of you. You won't have to plan any more dates or activities. Let us deal with it." She paused, and sighed, then looked up to meet his gaze, but he wouldn't look at her. "Look at me, Alec," she said softly, and Alec slowly turned his face and looked at her dark blue eyes. "I'll lighten your burden as much as I can. I'll carry my share of it. If I can make you forget, just for a few minutes, the weight that's on your shoulders now, then I will have reached my goal."

Alec felt the corner of his lips lift a little. "You know," he said. "You surprise me every day. How do you do that?"

Eryn blushed slightly. But she had to tell him before it was too late. "It's just that…" she trailed off. "I just want you," she said. "That's all. All your flaws, mistakes, smiles, giggles, jokes, sarcasm. Everything. I just want you." She looked up at him, and he held her gaze. Something in his blue ice-cold gaze softened and warmed a little. A tiny sparke came back, and Eryn smiled.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Nothing," she said, grinning. "I'm just happy I found you here."

"Me too," Alec said. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and snuggled her close. They didn't speak for a long while, simply content to be with each other.

-x-

He decided to have dinner in private with the four Elite, while the others had their dinner together. They were all dressed in dark clothes, showing their support to Alec and the other royals. Alec and the four young women ate in silence during the whole first course, each of them lost in their thoughts. They still hadn't talked about the Convicting or the attack, and no one wanted to go back there.

"So," Quinn said in a too-bright voice, breaking the gloom in the room. "Tomorrow's the Coronation, right?"

Alec nodded, finishing his mouthful of food. "Unfortunately, yeah," he said.

The girls exchanged an awkward glance. "It's not unfortunate, Alec," Thalia said. "You're the most powerful man in Illéa. Everyone's looking up to you, now."

Alec sighed. "I know. I just didn't want it to be this way. I thought I had more time." He forked another piece of meat in his mouth and chewed. "And it changes everything for you, too," he added. "You won't be a Princess even for a single minute. You'll directly be the next Empress. I just hoped my wife would be able to adjust slowly, and not have the whole weight of the job on her shoulders at once."

"Alec," Quinn said. "We're stronger than we seem. We've seen what this life gives and takes, and I think I speak for all of us when I say that Avonlea has prepared us thoroughly. She'll be there to assist us, and we to assist you."

Alec met Quinn's eyes and smiled. "Thanks," he said. "Truly. I don't know how I would survive without you."

-x-

The next morning, after a restless night, Alec kicked his covers away and ordered a cold shower to wake him up completely and get his blood flowing. He counted the seconds as the icy water pinpricked his skin. After fifteen seconds, his skin was numb and he didn't feel the cold anymore. He stayed a full three minutes under the cold shower before the water warmed up on itself, for safety reasons. Slowly, Alec's body warmec up and he finished his shower. When Alec walked back in his room, a towel around his waist, he noticed a breakfast tray on his bed, with a paper envelope on it. He took the envelope and read the note.

 _Take your time, Alec. You are going to see hundreds of people today. Enjoy breakfast in bed, and we can't wait to see you in your Royal uniform._

 _With love, Thalia, Eryn, Addison, and Quinn._

Alec's lips curved into a small grin. On a plate in the middle of the tray were a pile of heart-shaped pancakes, a little jar of maple syrup, a bowl of fresh strawberries, and a big mug of dark coffee, just like he liked it. There was a smaller plate with scrambled eggs and bacon, and a glass of fruit juice. Alec grinned. The attentions his girls were showing him made his heart melt. _Couldn't I keep all four of them?_ He mused. But of course, it was impossible. He quickly slipped on a comfortable pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, and made himself comfortable in bed. He took his tablet and looked at pictures of the Selection while eating his breakfast. Eryn didn't lie, when she said she and the others were going to take care of him. He chuckled and enjoyed his scrambled eggs.

He was done way too soon and went over the speech he had to give after the Coronation, and the lines he had to say during the Event.

There was a knock on his door, and Joel Li, his valet, came in with a new suit in a white fabric bag. He unzipped it under Alec's scrutiny, and revealed a white brocade uniform coat with a golden collar, gold fringed epaulettes and a golden belt. A pair of black trousers came with it, with black fancy shoes. Alec sighed at the sight of the outfit.

"Is this really necessary?" he asked, knowing it was.

"It is, Your Majesty," Joel said.

Alec shuddered. "Please, Joel. Don't call me that. Just stick with Alec."

Joel nodded and took the empty breakfast tray away. He put it in the Vacuum Box and sent it back to the kitchen while Alec stripped his comfortable clothes to put on the Coronation outfit. As usual, it fit perfectly, and Joel Li helped him fasten the buttons, belt and sword at his side. He went down to the ninth floor Terrace, flanked by his four Security Details, where a HovoTransport was waiting for him. Theodore and Chris were already inside, and the Elite with his siblings would be following shortly in another transport.

They travelled silently to the Angeles Royal Cathedral, which was only used for events such as this, or for the Easter and Christmas Mass. Once they arrived there, Alec noticed how crowded the place was. Hundreds and hundreds of people came to see him be crowned Emperor. The people loved him, and Alec never fully realized it. Some people were holding signs saying ' _Long Live Alec!_ ' or ' _We love you, Alec!_ ' or even ' _Marry Quinn!_ '. Alec chuckled, but sobered again pretty quickly. There was only one reason he was there that day, and he didn't want to think about it.

They waited in the HovoTransport away from the crowded place in front of the Cathedral, waiting for everyone to arrive and to be ready. Alec would be the last one to come in, and Security guards were making sure that the place was secure. Every person had to walk through a metal detector, and every single item was confiscated if deemed dangerous by a team of Nano-Weapons specialists. They didn't want to take any risk.

"Okay, the place is clear," Jasper Baldwin said, receiving a message on his Contacts. "We're going down." He dialed something in the command center of the Transport and they began their descent. When the vehicle was only a couple feet from the ground, two Security Details walked out first, then Chris, then Alec, followed by Theodore and the last two Security details. They walked to the private side entrance of the Church, where Austin, Avonlea and the Elite were waiting. The girls gasped as they saw Alec and how handsome he was.

Austin stood straight in his flowery modern white suit, proud of his brother. Avonlea was wearing a midnight blue dress with tiny Swarovski diamonds sewn into the fabric. It was a sleeveless high neckline with fabric laid out like flower petals going down from her hips. She was divinely beautiful in that gown, and almost outshed her brother. Almost. Because Alec was striking in his white, gold and black Royal uniform.

He looked at the girls, and they, too, were beautiful and at the top. Eryn was also wearing a deep blue dress with tiny crystals making a belt, and scattered from there to the top of the skirt and the bodice, like stars in the night sky. She was wearing a simple white pearl on a silver chain around her neck. Quinn was resplendent in a strapless gray printed gown, with some gold and silver shine, paired with simple jewelry. Thalia was dressed in a rose off-the-shoulders tulle gown, with flowers sown unto the bodice and the top of the skirts. She was like a light cloud in a sunset. Addison was wearing a long-sleeve layered dark blue dress with a low neckline in the back, and a short trail behind her. She was gorgeous. Honestly, Alec couldn't tell who was the most beautiful.

It was time. Theodore went first, alone, followed by Austin and Avonlea, then the four girls: Eryn, Addison, Thalia, and Quinn. All the other friends and family were already seated on the first row to the left, since the first row to the right was for Alec and his procession.

Then Alec walked in, head high, and everyone stood, welcoming their new Monarch. He clenched and unclenched his free gloved hand; the other was resting on the hilt of his sword on his side. The aisle seemed to be ten kilometers long. But finally, he was at the other end, and everyone sat back down. He sat on the throne set for him in the middle of the stage. The Archbishop stood next to him and read a constitutional text out of an old leather-bound book. Although they lived on technology the rest of the time, Royal traditions were usually written, signed, and read from paper documents and books.

Alec tried to focus, but his mind wandered, full of all the responsibilities that would burden him in the next few years. And one of the most important ones was an Heir. And to have an Heir, he needed a wife. His gaze fell on the four Elite, shining stars among the hundreds of people gathered in the Cathedral for him. He snapped back to reality when Quinn motioned him with her head that the priest was talking to him.

He then made Alec stand, gave him an orb, representing the world, and a scepter, representing royalty.

"Are you, Your Royal Highness Alec Nathan Schreave, willing to take the oath?" the Archbishop asked.

"I am willing," Alec replied in a strong voice, staring in front of him.

"Will you solemnly promise and swear to rule over the People of Illéa, according to its laws and customs?" the man asked

"I solemnly promise to do so."

"Will you, in your power, cause Law and Justice, in Mercy, to be executed in all your judgments?"

"I will." _Damn, these things are getting heavy_ , Alec thought.

A priest walked from the side to join the Archbishop with a red velvet cushion, the Crown resting on top of it. Alec kneeled on the white cushion at his feet as the Archbishop held the Crown above his head.

"Do you, Your Royal Highness Alec Nathan Schreave, accept the Crown and its duties?"

"I do," he said, and the clergyman put the heavy Crown on Alec's heads.

"I give to you, His Royal Majesty, Emperor Alec Nathan Schreave! Long live the Emperor!" the Archbishop said.

The crowd gathered inside the Church practically jumped to its feet and chanted "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

* * *

 _ **Hope you liked this chapter! ;) I wanted to post the chapter today, because tomorrow I won't be home^^ but I hope you enjoyed it :)**_

 _ **Can't wait to read your reviews !**_

 _ **see ya soon ;)**_


	46. Chapter 46

**Chapter 46**

"Your schedule is going to be a little busier," Chris said, giving Alec his day's plan at seven in the morning.

"A _little_?" Alec repeated, quickly skimming the timetable. "You can't be serious. When am I supposed to date the girls? Hell, when am I supposed to find my _wife_?"

Chris sighed. "Look, this is just the beginning. This is your first day officially Emperor. There are some things you need to attend to before anything else, but then you'll get used to it, a routine will start, and you'll be able to make time to finish your Selection."

Alec rolled his eyes.

"Come on," Chris said. "Quick breakfast, then you're meeting with your advisors." He chuckled. "Damn, when did I go from Nano-Weapons Specialist to the Emperor's personal Assistant?"

Alec chuckled dryly. "You tell me." He quickly put on his suit Joel Li gave him, ran a hand in his long hair before tying them in a messy bun at the back of his head. The two young men went to the breakfast room. No one was there, of course. Normal breakfast hours were at eight o'clock. An Android served him a tray and he ate without even tasting the food, silent. Chris, too, was silent. Both men had their thoughts far, far away… Chris was with a certain red-haired girl in Sonage, and Alec's was thinking about how he could possibly make time to finish his Selection.

"Good morning," a male voice said, coming in. Chris and Alec were startled, but concealed it well.

"Dad?" Alec said. "What are you doing here?"

Theodore was dress in an all-black suit. "I know these first few weeks are going to be hectic for you, son," he said, sitting next to Alec, while the Android served a try to the former Emperor. "I figured I could give you a hand. At least until you finished the Selection."

Alec looked at his father for the first time since the attack. His salt and pepper hair was gone. It was like he had gone gray – almost white – in a week. He had dark circles under his eyes, which were a little bit red. He had probably been crying a lot since he lost his wife. At least he had taken the time to shave clean. Not like Alec, who hadn't even taken the time to shave, that morning.

"Thanks," Alec mumbled, forking a piece of waffle. The rest of the short breakfast went on in silence, and the three men were gone before the girls came down for breakfast.

-x-

Avonlea had ordered her breakfast in her room, with Alistair; Austin was away in Carolina to spend some time away from the Palace, to be with Cheska. So, the remaining Elite ate their breakfast alone, in the grand dining room. Forks and knives clattering against china resonated in the room, making their meal gloomy and silent. None spoke. They knew the end was close. They couldn't know when it would come, but they knew one of them would be chosen by Alec.

They all promised each other to be happy for whoever ended up to be Alec's wife, but deep down, they also knew it was impossible. Eryn loved Alec too much to be happy not to be chosen. If ever she was not Alec's wife, she wasn't sure she could find love again.

Addison didn't really know what to think. She really liked him. There was no denying it. But she was still a little scared about what being a wife would imply. Sure, Alec hadn't crossed any line with her, and she was kind of glad. But on the other hand, she did want to know what it was like to be kissed. Really kissed by someone who loved her. Deep down, she wished she could at least kiss him once before the end. But she was terrified about the idea. Holding hands with him already made her heart drum madly in her ribcage, and she was sure Alec could hear it. What would a kiss do to her? She promised herself to find out before it was finished.

Quinn couldn't imagine her life without Alec, now. She had fallen completely and utterly for him. Being Empress didn't scare her. She knew she was cut for this. Heck, she was _born_ for this. She hadn't faltered during the Convicting – almost. And her project had gotten the most votes on the public polls. But not far before Eryn'. She knew Eryn was her strongest rival. And she also wondered how heavy the Crowning tiara was. Like for real, though? Would it hold on her straight hair? Would it be woven into the hair, somehow?

Thalia was scared to have her heart broken again. Her first fiancé had cheated on her, so she had to broke up their engagement and kick him away. Her heart was in a million shattered pieces, and she had just managed to put them back together before the Selection. Her heart still held precariously together, so she was afraid of admitting her feelings for Alec. True, she did like him. But she knew the moment she admitted it, her heart would be on display to be broken again.

"So," Addison said, breaking the silence. "What now?"

The others looked up, shaken from their personal thoughts.

Thalia shrugged. "Not sure. We can't just come barging in in his new schedule. Maybe we should let him find the time for us?"

Quinn shook her head. "No. I'm not waiting. I'm going to make him have time for me. I mean for us." She fiddled with her spoon. "He's going to be Emperor for many years. He's always going to have a schedule like this, anyway, now."

Eryn shrugged. She didn't want to share what her idea was. She also wanted Alec only for herself. And she was determined to find creative ways to spend time with him and to help him carry the load on his shoulders.

A few minutes later, Avonlea arrived in a very elegant long-sleeved black tulle dress, with Design 3D printed shoes.

"All right ladies," she said. "Today's Friday, so we have a Report tonight. We have a lot to prepare and work on, so meet me in fifteen minutes in the Women's Room."

The Elite quickly finished their breakfast and went back to their rooms to get ready to tackle the day's work.

While the girls were working with Avonlea, Alec was in endless meetings with his advisors and Chris, and his father kindly guiding him. He was clearly not pulling the strings, what Alec was afraid of before, but simply guiding him, advising him better than the advisors. Even for lunch, he didn't even see his Elite. He had a statement to read and learn for the Report. And he did that best alone.

Alec chuckled to himself. Why hadn't he never thought of this before? He could simply put the text on his Contacts and read it. He would still have to know what was coming before reading it, so he still had to learn it. But he could use the text on his Contacts as a crutch to lean on in case he forgot something.

-x-

A little before five o'clock, Alec was ready for the Report. He went to the fourth level and was happy to see the four Elite already there, huddled in a group, talking.

"Hello ladies," Alec said, genuinely smiling for the first time that day. His cheeks felt the strain and he knew he should do that more often. "I'm so sorry I couldn't see you today," he said. "But I hope this crazy schedule will soon change. Or at least we get used to it." He chuckled awkwardly.

"It's okay," Quinn said, laying a gentle hand on his arm. "We totally understand. And if there's anything we can do for you, please tell us."

He nodded. "I will, thank you." He looked at them one by one, taking in their outfits. Addison was wearing a long flowing asymmetrical red dress, with her hair let down, and light makeup. He liked how bold it made her, for once.

Quinn was in a simple black sleeveless dress, with some kind of checkered lace covering the whole dress. Alec wasn't sure if it was still her mourning clothes or if she just wanted to wear black, to be elegant and ladylike.

Thalia was wearing a dark blue-gray dress with a tulle skirt, making her look very feminine. She wore her hair in a half up-do with some pearl pins in it.

Eryn was divine in a white and green satin strapless gown, wearing her hair down in unruly waves. She looked like a Greek goddess and Alec's heart fluttered a little at the sight of her.

"You are all very elegant and beautiful, tonight," Alec said, not saying half of what he was thinking.

Clyde Volt interrupted the group and asked the girls if he could borrow the Emperor. Of course, the girls nodded. And then their smiles wavered. They had noticed how Alec had noticed Eryn. Quinn was the first one to break the group and take her seat. The others followed suit and waited for the Report to start.

It was Alec's first Report as Emperor, so there were images from the Coronation, his statement, a few words from his father, and the Elite also all said something, how they were proud of Alec, and how they would support him whatever happened. They didn't say how they would support each other, because this was less and less true. They weren't sure their friendship was that strong.

After the Report, Alec had his first free evening. And though everyone knew it, he didn't ask any of the girls on a date, or spent time with them in a group. He just wanted to be alone for a while, with nothing else to do than just stare at the ceiling. Maybe watch a HoloVid or read something. There was so little precious time to do this, now…

He had been staring at the ceiling for a full twenty minutes, unmoving, when he heard a light knock on his door. He frowned. "Uh, come in?" he said. He didn't recognize the knock. He knew his sibling's knock, Chris's and Joel, but not this one.

The door opened, revealing Quinn, dressed in a simple dark gray spaghetti-strap tea-length dress, carrying a tray.

"Hey," she said softly, putting the tray on his night stand. "I noticed you didn't eat much during supper," she said, "so I brought some extra dessert."

Alec chuckled. "How did you get up here?"

"Chris helped," she said slyly. The fifteenth floor was closed off to everyone but the Royal Family.

"Of course," Alec said, sitting on the side of his bed, rolling his eyes. She turned around, closing the door, and revealing a very, _very_ , low cut back of her dress. Alec could almost guess the rest, leaving little space for the imagination. He raised an eyebrow and smirked as she walked back to him.

"So," she said, sitting on the bed next to him, with the tray on the other side. "What do you want to start with? There are some Macarons, some Galaxy donuts, geometric cupcakes, we've got some liquid nitrogen ice cream," she continued, enumerating the desserts on the plate. But Alec wasn't really listening. He was staring at her lips, her bare shoulders, and her golden skin.

"What about we keep the dessert for later," he said softly, his lips grazing her shoulder.

Quinn smirked. She was hoping he would say something like that. She took a pink macaron and offered it to him, holding it between her teeth. He smiled and bit off the part offered to him. They both chuckled and ate the macarons. "Or we could do both," she said, pushing him down on the bed. She crawled on top of him, kissing him, her fingers working on opening his shirt. Because as much as she wanted Alec, she also wanted the crown. And she was willing to do anything, even if it meant securing her place in that way. She knew it was a risk. Alec had slept with some other girls in the Selection, and he had kicked them out. But maybe if she was better than them, she would have an advantage over Eryn. Because Eryn would never do something like that. At least not coming from her. Quinn wanted Alec? And his Crown? Then she would get her hands on both.

Alec didn't even think of the desserts waiting for him on the tray. He had a much tastier dessert in his arms, and this time, he was not running away like a coward. He wrapped his arms around her small frame and slipped his hands on her legs and under her skirt. She pressed herself against him, feeling him harden beneath her. She finished opening his shirt and Alec took it off, keeping his lips locked with hers. When he had discarded the shirt, she started working on his pants, while he tried to figure out how to take off her dress. Quinn giggled against him and helped him take it off. Now they were both almost naked, just in their underwear. Quinn was wearing no bra, though, her dress ordering that. Alec grinned as he cupped her perfect breasts in his hands. She kissed him again as he explored her with his fingers.

A light knock sounded on his door. They both froze, waiting. The knock sounded a second time.

"I'm busy, right now," Alec said. "I'll be there in the morning."

Quinn tried not to burst out laughing and covered her mouth with her hand, smoldering a chuckle.

On the other side of the door, Eryn walked away. Alec did say he wanted to be alone that night. But she had to try.

 _Oh, well, I'll talk to him tomorrow_ , she thought, going back to her room. At least she would get an early night and a good night sleep. But she kept wondering what Alec was up to, alone in his room. Maybe he was watching a HoloVid or something.

 _Or someone got there before you_ , a small voice hissed in her mind. Eryn frowned. No way. It couldn't be. She scrambled to her feet and went in search of the other girls. It couldn't have been Addison. She wouldn't have the guts to go to his room. Thalia maybe? She knocked on Thalia's door, and her maid opened.

"She's taking a bath," the maid said. "Should I tell her to call on you later?"

"No, it's fine," Eryn said. "I'll talk to her tomorrow. Thank you." She walked away and stopped in front of Quinn's room, and knocked. She waited. No one answered. She knocked again, louder, just to make sure. Again, no one answered, not even her maid. Eryn's shoulder's slumped and she fought back tears. She quickly went back to her room and threw herself on her bed. She curled up in a ball under her covers, completely forgetting to put on her pajamas, still in her report dress. Silent tears streamed down her face, and she cried, feeling betrayed by both Alec and Quinn.

Eryn cried herself to sleep. She woke up a few hours later, noticing the lamp still on, and still wearing her dress. She took it off, put on something more comfortable to sleep in, turned the light off and went back to bed. Sleep eluded her for an hour or two, but finally she went to Morpheus's arms.

-x-

The next morning, Saturday, everyone slept in late. Everyone but Alec. He silently tiptoed out of his room, leaving beautiful Quinn asleep. Ne needed to clear his mind. He went down to the second floor, while everyone was still sleeping and headed to the Gym area. He needed to blow some steam, and the running track would be perfect. He didn't have any training anymore, so he doubted he would go far. But he needed to do it. He put the headphones on, turned on the convex screen and chose the forest trail. He ran, oblivious to the forest sounds. He pushed himself to his limit, until his muscles burned. And then he pushed forward. Nothing better than to test one's limits. Without any training, he ran seven kilometers. He used to be able to run twenty, when he trained regularly. But now, with the Selection, and with the new crown on his head, it was nigh impossible. Seven kilometers was good enough.

He took a shower and changed, still in the changing rooms of level two. No use going back to his room. He wasn't sure he wanted to face Quinn right now. Or the others. But he had to.

When he stepped in the dining room where the brunch buffet was served, almost everyone was there. Just Avonlea and Alistair were missing. He went to the buffet and piled his plate with pancakes, bacon, and eggs before taking a seat between Addison and Eryn. Quinn had a smug grin on her face; Addison and Thalia seemed well rested; But Eryn pushed the food in her plate, meeting no one's eyes. She quickly finished her plate, excused herself and walked out. She headed to the roof, finding solace in her garden; a garden Alec had planted for her. Usually, planting a garden means believing in tomorrow. And she did until last night. But now? She sighed, standing amid her plants.

A tear streamed down her cheek, and she angrily wiped it away. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"I came this far, I'm not going to quit, now," she mumbled to herself. She straightened her shoulders, lifted her chin and brushed some imaginary dust from her light green lace dress, just like Avonlea had told them. She was going to go through with her idea. She went back to the Vacuum and to the fourteenth floor. From there, she decided to look for Alec. When she walked down the hall to her room, she saw Alec knocking on her door.

"Eryn? Are you there?" he was saying. She looked at him a little longer before making herself known. He knocked again, and then she came toward him.

"There's no one in there," she said lightly, plastering a forced smile on her face.

Alec turned around and saw her, a genuine smile spreading on his handsome face. Eryn didn't know how long she could be mad at him. Maybe not for long. Unlike Quinn. She knew she would never forgive her.

"I was looking for you," he said. "You didn't seem well at breakfast."

She shrugged. "I'm okay. Actually, I was looking for you," she said. "I would have proposed this to you last night, but you were otherwise busy," she said slowly.

Alec became red pretty quickly, confirming her suspicions.

"But now is a time as good as any," she said, cutting him on whatever he was going to say. "Do you have an hour to spare?" she asked.

Alec smiled, pushing away the heat in his cheeks. "Of course. I can always spare time for you, Eryn," he said, taking her hand in his and lacing his fingers with hers.

"Excellent," Eryn said, softening a little. She led him to the Vacuum. "I know the new orders to have a security detail – or more – with you at all times prevents you from going outside and take a ride, like you used to," she said mysteriously. "So, I thought of something."

Alec frowned. "And what is that?" he asked just as the doors opened on level three. "The game rooms?"

Eryn grinned, completely forgetting her feud with Quinn, enjoying every second with Alec. She would get to Quinn later.

"Well, since you can't go out, why not bring the outside to you?" She walked down the hall to the VR room. She pushed the door open and Alec frowned.

"How-? What are we doing exactly?"

Eryn chuckled and went to the control panel and typed in something, choosing a game. Alec watched from over her shoulder.

"Oh, my God," Alec said. " _Free Ride Biker_? I haven't played that game in ages!"

"Seven years, to be precise," she said. "The last person who logged into this game was AL, I suppose that's you, and it was seven years ago."

Alec chuckled. The floor opened and two motocross on structures riveted to the floor came up from a storage place below. "Pick your side," Eryn said, and Alec grinned, picked the left one. "Oh, and we need the serums," she said, coming over to him with two syringes.

"I hate that part," Alec said, making a face.

"I know, me too, but we have to." She injected the serum in Alec's neck first, then in herself. She just had time to put back the devices in the control panel and mount her bike before the gray room became a wild track in their minds. Alec and Eryn raced on the VR tracks, talking through their mikes and having so much fun; Alec even forgot about his new burden, and Eryn forgot everything else. It was just them, the bikes, and the wild tracks. After an hour, the serum stopped its effect and they found themselves back in the gray VR room.

"Wow," Alec said. "That was one of the best things I did this week. I completely forgot about everything else," he said, dismounting his bike. Eryn did the same and went to the control panel to put away the bikes, back under the floor. Alec slowly walked toward her, and he pushed away the hair she had on her shoulder, and placed a light kiss on her warm skin.

"Alec, I-" Eryn said, turning around. She couldn't face him, but she held him at bay, just enough so he couldn't kiss her.

"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked softly, frowning in concern.

She sighed. "You're going to have to make a choice, soon," she said, still not meeting his ice blue eyes. "I don't think I can survive watching you date, kiss, and sleep with the others…"

Alec looked at his feet, embarrassed. "Look, this is the Selection, after all." he said. "But I promise my choice will be soon. I don't think I can wait much longer, either, and with the Crown on my head now, I'll really need someone at my side." He looked up at Eryn's deep blue eyes and cradled her cheek in his large hand. "I love you," he whispered.

Eryn frowned. "You can't say that after what you did last night," she snapped back. "I'm sure you told that to Quinn, too." with that, she stormed away, but Alec was quick to catch up with her with his long strides.

"Eryn," he said, grabbing her wrist. He sighed. "You're right," he admitted. "I did tell her that. That's the problem," he said. "She makes me do and stay stuff I only want to do and say to you. I love her, in a way, but when I'm with you, everything and everyone else just disappears."

Eryn narrowed her eyes and frowned. "Then make your damn mind, Your Majesty," she said. This time, Alec let her storm away.

* * *

 _ **Heyyy! I hope I didn't make you wait too long for this chapter! I was away for a couple days, and then I didn't have time to write...**_

 _ **But I wrote this chapter in one day, somehow around my grocery shopping, cleaning, starting a new book** (reading) **and my Volley Ball practice...**_

 _ **Anyways, I hope you liked it! The tension is rising! and I'm hoping to get the end at about 50 chapters** (including the epilogue, if there's one... we'll see...)_

 _ **Can't wait to read your reviews! again, I hope you liked it and that it wasn't too long... oops. ;) See ya!**_

 ** _ps: And thanks to those who are still active on Pinterest ;) it's cool to have a wardrobe for each girl to dig in when I need one^^ and the quotes are really cool too! and helpful ;)_**


	47. Chapter 47

**Chapter 47**

"Your Majesty," a voice said, bringing Alec back to the present. He was in an endless meeting with his advisors. "The people are restless," one of the advisors said.

"Why?" Alec snapped.

The advisor looked at the others before continuing. "They've been through a lot, recently, Your Majesty. They've buried an Empress, and lost an Emperor." He paused a second before going on. "And the Selection is stalling."

Alec closed his eyes and rubbed his fingers over his face. "Shall I remind you, Sir Jacos, that I lost a mother, too?" he said angrily. "And why is the Selection stalling? I have four remaining girls."

Sir Jacos cleared his throat. "I think the people need something to look forward to," he said. "With the attack during the Convicting, they're afraid. We need to get their minds off that, and on something festive."

Alec raised an eyebrow. "Such as?"

"A wedding," Sir Jacos said. "Heirs."

Alec scoffed. "You realize, Sir Jacos, that you're talking about heirs when I don't even have a wife yet."

Jacos swallowed with difficulty. "I know, Your Majesty," he said, his heart beating in his chest. Clearly, he was alone in this, and wouldn't get help from the other advisors. Alec's temper was not good, that morning. "But the prospect of it, Your Majesty. The people need to have something to talk about."

Alec stared at him for a full half minute. "Aren't they already talking about who the next Empress will be?"

"Y-Yes," Your Majesty. "But they have for months. They need something new. Something tangible. W-What the bride will wear. Who will be there? Heir names."

Alec looked away, out the window. He sighed. The room filled with heavy silence while the young Emperor made his choice. It was all on him, now. Nobody dared to move. Alec was debating what to do.

"Fine," he finally said, and everyone released a breath. "I'll have one final date with each girl, public, with HovoCams, live. People will have something to look at. And then I'll make my choice." He stood. "This meeting is over." He walked away as the others scrambled to their feet to follow etiquette.

Alec stormed down the hall and went directly to his office. He still had a lot of paper work to go through. But one thing he wanted to look at was that stupid pro and cons list he found on his tablet about the remaining Elite. He read it quickly and just laughed. Obviously, however had done this list did not know the girls the way he did. He deleted the document and opened the drawer to put his tablet away. That's when he saw a turned over picture frame. His smile twitched and lifted slightly as he turned the picture over. It was the same picture of him and Eryn he had given her just before the Convicting. He had put it in his office for safe keeping, especially now that the girls decided to come to his room unannounced.

He stared at the picture for a while, gently running his thumb over Eryn's image. She was right. He needed to make up his damn mind. And one last date with all of them to show to the people will help him decide. Or maybe not. Maybe he already had made his choice, deep down in his heart. But fine: the people – and him – needed something to keep their minds off the attack? He'll give it to them, and to himself.

-x-

Somewhere in the Palace, Quinn was strolling the halls, taking in every inch of the Palace, knowing that the end was coming soon. She wasn't ready to let go of this place or Alec, yet, but she wanted to imprint it in her memory, just in case. At the other end of the hall, Eryn arrived, walking with purpose.

"Oh, hey, Eryn," Quinn said in a friendly way.

Eryn kept her face from showing any emotion. This was the first time she was alone with Quinn since she found out about her and Alec.

"Whore," she said under her breath, not meeting Quinn's eyes, and continuing on her way.

Quinn froze and turned around. "What did you just say?"

Eryn stopped walking, too, but did not turn around. "You heard me, Quinn."

"What did you call me?" she asked again. This time Eryn turned around and faltered just a little. It wasn't a good idea, after all. Quinn narrowed her eyes at Eryn. "Say that again to my face," she hissed.

Eryn knew she was trapped. She couldn't back away, anymore. "Whore," she said louder, making sure Quinn understood this time. "Everyone knows what you did. You think you can just manipulate Alec to choose you, just because you're good in bed?"

Quinn snorted. "I _am_ good in bed," she said. "He hasn't kicked me out yet. Not like Xandra and Jessica."

"I'll be there to see you fall when Alec doesn't choose you," Eryn snapped back and started walking away.

Quinn grabbed Eryn's arm and made her turn around to face her. The slap landed on Eryn's cheek faster than anyone could say _Selection_. Eryn held her face with a shocked expression while Quinn walked away, satisfied. No one talked to Quinn Woodson that way.

-x-

"Alec?" his sister said, popping her head in his office. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Sure," he said, inviting her sister in his office. "What's up?"

She sat and fidgeted with her many rigs on her fingers. She was wearing a long sleeve black top with a shimmering black high-low skirt. Apparently, she was still wearing mourning clothes. Alec understood her. "Well," she said. "I have no idea what happened between Quinn and Eryn, but obviously, something did, and they hate each other, now. No. Actually Eryn hates on Quinn."

Alec raised an eyebrow. He knew exactly why. "Oh? I wonder what could have happened?"

"You have no idea?" she asked, skeptical.

"Nope," he shrugged. "What do you think I should do?"

"Maybe talk it out with them?"

"Hm-hm? Anything else more drastic?"

"Alec," she said, rolling her eyes, exasperated. "You're the Emperor! You decide what you do with your girls!"

Alec chuckled. "What about you and Alistair? Anything new?"

Avonlea narrowed her eyes at him. "You just ignored what I said."

"Answer the question, Aves."

She looked out the window, into the Domed sky. "Alistair will go back to England in a couple days. His father's not well, again."

"Oh. And…?" Alec felt something else was coming.

The Princess sighed. "And he asked me to come back with him." She still didn't look up at Alec, still fidgeting with her rings. "And marry him."

"Ah-ha! I knew this was coming," Alec said, grinning. "And what did you say?"

"I said I needed to think about it. And talk it out. With you."

"Me? Why?"

She shrugged. "I don't really know. I just thought you'd want to know. And," she said, not letting him say anything yet, "you're still having your Selection."

Alec chuckled dryly. "Yeah, about that. I'm gonna have one more final date with every one, and then chose."

She looked up. "Wow. You're almost done, then."

"Yeah."

"Which means my services are not needed anymore, which means I can go to England with Alistair." There was no emotion in her voice, good or bad.

Alec's shoulders slumped. "Yeah, I guess so." Then he grinned, an idea blooming in his mind. "The people want to see a wedding. Why don't we give them _two_ weddings?"

Avonlea's eyes widened. "Yours and mine?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of yours and Austin's?"

She rolled her eyes. "No. out of the question, Alec. You've been having your Selection, you're the Emperor, you're the eldest, you get married first. The people want to see _your_ wedding. And there's no way I'm gonna let you bail now."

Alec grunted. "Fine." He sighed. "Go to England, get engaged, get used to England and being the next Queen of England, and leave me alone in my misery."

Avonlea smirked. "Since when choosing a girl from your Selection is a misery?" She stood and left. "I'm gonna go tell April to start packing my stuff…"

"Sure, whatever," he said, waving her away and staring at the ceiling. "Everyone's leaving, anyway," he muttered once she was gone. "Austin's in Carolina; Avonlea's going to England; Mom's dead; Dad's only here in body." He paused. "The only people who haven't bailed on me are Chris and the girls. For now." He sighed.

-x-

A few hours later, after he finally admitted his eyes and head hurt for having read so long, he walked to the window to stretch his legs. He saw Thalia sitting outside on a Terrace. He counted the floors to know which level she was on and quickly went to the Vacuum and walked outside on that Terrace. She was still there.

"Hey," he said, coming behind her. She jumped, startled. "Sorry," he added. "I didn't want to scare you." He searched Thalia's hazel eyes. "Are you okay?"

She shrugged. "Sure," she said quickly, then looked over the city.

"It's just I haven't really taken the time to talk to any of you since the, uh, Convicting," he said instead of 'the attack'. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

She bit her lip, not meeting his eyes. The concealer on her face hid the dark circles under her eyes. "To be honest, I haven't really slept since then," she said softly. "And you know I can't take sleeping pills."

Alec nodded and mentally kicked himself for waiting this long to come check on her. "I'm sorry I didn't ask sooner," he said. "Is there anything I can do?"

She shook her head. "No." She paused. "It's something I have to deal with alone, and no one can do anything for me."

Alec sighed. "Can I tell you something?"

She nodded, looking curiously at him. "Sure."

"You probably know it's going to be the end of the Selection, soon," he started. "The people are scared, because of what happened the other day. They're disoriented. They believe everything they see and read on the Feeds. And it's my job to give them something else to think about."

"So you're going to make your choice really soon?"

"Yeah. But first, we are going to give them one last date with each Elite. It's going to be filmed by HovoCams live. One each evening starting tonight, Monday, until Thursday. Then Friday's the Report, where I make my choice."

She chuckled dryly. "Wouldn't you spare everyone the pain and just choose now? Like, we all know you love Quinn. Or Eryn," she quickly added.

Alec chuckled and looked at the city beneath them. "The people don't know that," he said not even denying it.

"Oh come on," Thalia said. "Have you even seen the polls? The Feeds are full of them. People are even taking bets."

Alec raised an eyebrow. "Then let's give them more bets to do."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Fine."

"And I was wondering if you would like to go first, tonight?"

"Uhm. Sure."

"And you plan something. Surprise me."

Thalia laughed. "You're kidding, right? You want me to organizes something for _tonight_?"

"This is your last chance to sway me, Thalia Moreau. Make it count," he said slyly, winking. He took her hand in his and kissed it before leaving her alone to her thinking and planning. He went to the other girls and gave them pretty much the same speech, giving them all a different day to organize their Last Date.

-x-

That afternoon, Thalia sent a message to Alec on his Contacts. _Would it be okay if we skipped dinner to go on our date?_

 _Of course, that would be a nice change._ Alec answered.

 _Great! Then meet me on the Main Entrance Terrace at six o'clock._

 _I'll be there. Can't wait._

And now Thalia was waiting for the Emperor to join her. A HovoTransport was waiting for them, with three HovoCams flying around the Terrace, taking everything in. A couple minutes after six, Alec appeared in a pair of jeans, a checkered shirt and a waistcoat. He didn't want to wear a suit, but he still needed to look good for the Hovocams. Thalia, who was wearing a simple fifties style sleeveless polka dot blue dress with her hair down, curtsied to her Emperor, as etiquette demanded.

He chuckled and helped her up. "You look really pretty, tonight," Alec said, kissing her hand. He looked up the HovoTransport. "Are we going somewhere?" he asked with a grin.

"Yes," she replied, "but I'm not telling you, yet. It's a surprise."

Alec smile genuinely. "Excellent." He helped her climb in the Transport, and noticed Jasper Baldwin, his personal Security Detail was already inside.

"The three other Security guards went ahead to secure the place," Thalia explained and Alec nodded. The trip to their destination lasted only fifteen minutes, but it was enough to be outside the 'Dome. They landed at the top of an Angeles mountain, under a clear twilight sky, still orange on the horizon, and slowly turning to purple. Alec took a deep fresh air breath, closed his eyes, and let it out slowly. Outside was his favorite place, and he hadn't been out since the Convicting. Around them, the Four Security Details took their place in a large square, making sure no one would disturb them. Or try to kill them

Thalia took out a large basket that was hidden in the Transport and opened it to find a checkered red and white blanket that she spread on the grass. She put the basket on it and started to take out food.

"Oh, so we're not actually skipping dinner," Alec said chuckling and sitting next to her on the ground.

"We are skipping dinner at the Palace," she said, grinning. She offered him a deliciously looking sandwich. "I thought it would change from the Palace meals," she said.

Alec took a bite in his and an explosion of flavors filled his mouth. Bacon, avocado, lettuce, cream cheese. He closed his eyes and chewed happily. "Damn, this is really good," he said. "Did you make them?"

"Yes," she said, looking away. "I didn't have much time to prepare, remember? Sandwiches were the fastest and easiest thing, to be honest."

Alec smiled and leaned toward her, placing a kiss on her cheek. "Thanks," he said. "It means a lot to me that you prepared all this. I needed to get out of that place," he whispered, not wanting the HovoCams to pick up his words.

A blush spread on Thalia's cheeks and she simply smiled. She looked up to the sky and pointed at something. "Look, the first star of the night," she said.

Alec looked up and during the next fifteen minutes, the stars lit up one by one, as if someone was turning them on one at a time. Thalia proceeded to tell him which constellations were above them, and some of their stories. Alec spent the most of his time looking at Thalia's profile than following her finger pointing at the stars.

But she somehow seemed sad. Alec's heart broke at the realization. This might be their last date. Why had he come up with this stupid idea in the first place?

"You know," she suddenly said after a few minutes of silence gazing at the dark blue sky. By now, they had finished their picnic and were lying down on the blanket, silently counting the stars. "I never imagined I would be part of a Selection. And even less that I would be part of the Elite." She let out a sad chuckle. "I'm really honored that you kept me this long. I've met some extraordinary people along the way. And even if the memories are not all pleasant, most of them are, and I'm really happy I've been here."

Alec silently took her hand in his and rubbed it with his thumb. He didn't really know what to say to that, to be honest. "Yeah, not all pleasant," he agreed. "But all of the ones with you are pleasant."

Thalia smiled in the darkness, but she quickly remembered what this date was: The Last Date. "This may be the last occasion I have to tell you this, Alec," she said softly, afraid to let out the words, "but I've grown to love you, to be honest." Her voice wavered a little. "I'm not sure I can go back to my old life and just fall in love again. This is already the second time, and I'm not sure I can do it a third time."

Alec felt like a punch to his gut. He hadn't realized how it was for the girls, hoping to fall in love, actually falling in love, and being rejected by him. "I'm sorry," he whispered. Then he shifted and turned on his side, propped on his elbow, looking at her long, dark, eyelashes. "We've done so many things together and been through so many things, too," he said. "But you have to know that I care a lot about you. And I guess I'll always love you, in a way." He gently played with her fingers, but she didn't meet his gaze, staring stubbornly at the stars.

"I'm glad to know you care for me, Alec," she replied after a little while, "but please don't tell me you love me. It's too painful."

Alec nodded, but he continued to stare at her. What would his life be without these amazing girls in it? Only one will remain. He sighed, and both stayed silent after that. When Thalia started shivering from the chilly night, Alec suggested they head back to the Palace and placed something on her shoulders. He walked her back to her room and thanked her for the peaceful date out of the Palace, and for their little conversation.

When Thalia was finally alone in her room, tears streamed down her cheeks and she cried herself to sleep.

-x-

Tuesday evening, after the last dessert plates were taken away by the Android servants, Eryn, Thalia and Addison went either to their rooms or the Women's room, while Quinn invited Alec on their Last Date. Three HovoCams floated around them, controlled remotely by Tech guys. The whole thing was going Live and millions of people had logged in to watch the second Last Date.

"Okay," Quinn said. "I hope you're not planning on going to bed early, because I have lots of things in store for us." She smiled slyly and led him to the Vacuum and both ended up on level Three.

"The game rooms?" Alec asked.

Quinn shook her head. "Nope. You'll see." She walked to the end of the corridor and opened the doors to the HoloCinema room. Alec raised an eyebrow, but didn't say outright what he was thinking, since it was Live. _Seriously? Movie night? That's all you could come up with for our Last Date?_ She made him sit down in the middle of the room and gave him a huge bag of popcorn.

"So," Alec said. "What are you watching?"

"Memory Lane," she said slyly.

"I never heard of it," he said, making himself comfortable and popping a popcorn in his mouth. "What's it about?"

"You'll see." She pressed on a button and the room darkened, leaving the Holoscreen in front of them to come to life. Familiar pictures filled the screen. Pictures of the beginning of the Selection, when all the 35 girls were getting pampered and were shy and innocent. Alec laughed at the images. But as the film went on, there were more and more footage of only Quinn and Alec – a truth or dare game, stolen moments in the Palace she even had forgotten until she found the footage, or even time spent together on their vacation trip. Some of the footage included some other girls, since they had done several group dates, but she had tried to choose only footage of them together.

Quinn and Alec laughed at most the film, eating popcorn and getting their fingers a bit salty and sticky. Alec wrapped an arm around Quinn's shoulders, forgetting the Live HovoCams around them.

When the film ended and the lights in the room brightened again, Alec placed a kiss on her cheek. "Thanks," he said. "That was a really good summary of the Selection and of our time together."

Quinn grinned. "I'm glad you liked it," she said. "But there's even more," she added, standing up and taking his hand. "Come on."

Alec chuckled, grabbed a last handful of popcorn he stuffed in his mouth and followed Quinn to the Vacuum again. Her maid was waiting for her there and gave her a fabric bag before the couple shot up to the roof. A warm wind welcomed them and Quinn's dress wavered in the wind. Only then did Alec notice her dress, and how see-through it was… It was a seemingly modest long-sleeve dress with a high neckline, but the material was practically transparent, with only gray fabric flowers covering the dress. Alec grinned at the sight.

"What now?" he asked.

"Now," she said mysteriously, pulling out two weird looking objects from her bag, "Now we _make_ memories, instead of looking back on them."

"With that?" Alec said pointing to the two evil looking devices.

"Yes," Quinn said. "And for your information, these are vintage objects. Still working, mind you," she added, chuckling. "They're called Polaroids, and they take pictures."

Alec chuckled and took one of the objects in his hands – the pastel blue one. "And how is this supposed to take pictures?" he asked, skeptical, turning it around between his fingers.

Quinn sat next to him on the bench against the Greenhouse and proceeded to explain how the camera worked. "And," she added, proud, "This is actually a real Vintage Polaroid. Like, when they came out in the 21 first century, they were copies of even older cameras. This thing is like 500 years old."

Alec's eyes widened and he almost dropped the Polaroid. "How did you get it?"

"I have friends in high places," she mused. "No, but to be honest, I took a course in college on photography. It was just a club, I was curious. And we all had copies of those. But these two are real _real_ vintage." She laughed at his puzzled face. "Okay let me take a picture of you," she said standing. "Strike a pose," she ordered, and the Emperor obeyed, striking a ridiculous pose. She snapped the picture and a black square came out of the camera.

"It didn't work," Alec said, taking the black square between his fingers and turning it over.

"Patience," Quinn said. "It always takes a couple minutes to appear." They stared at the black square that slowly transformed into a perfect replica of Alec.

"Ha!" Alec exclaimed. "This is awesome!"

"One thing about Polaroids, is they can't be photoshopped and edited. They're raw, and flawed, just like us, and that's what makes them beautiful."

Alec grinned and looked up at Quinn's beautiful face. Whoever said she was flawed was clearly wrong. "Okay, my turn," he said, and Quinn stroke a pose. Again, they waited for the photograph to appear on the black square, and both were delighted to see it appear.

"Okay," she said. "Now that we both have the hang of it, why don't we play a game."

"Like what?" Alec said, playing along for the HovoCams.

"We have to wait a couple minutes each time for the photograph to appear. Why don't we use that time to come up with something – a goal, a promise – for our future, or say something that has impacted us most in our life into becoming what and who we are."

"Wow," Alec said, trying to wrap his mind around all that, "Um, ok. You start, since it's your turn," he grinned slyly.

"Of course," she said, and Alec again did a crazy pose.

He mentally reprimanded himself: _What will the people think of their new Emperor striking crazy poses and making weird faces…?_

"So, if I end up being your wife," she said clearly so the HovoCams would catch every word, "I promise to always make you laugh, when it's appropriate, of course." She smiled genuinely at him, and Alec answered by leaning in and kissing her.

"Thanks," he whispered. Then they looked at the picture and laughed. "It's my turn to take a picture," he said. "Come here," he pulled her close to him and turned the camera on them both, revisiting the Selfie – Contacts weren't very useful for making selfies, unless you used a mirror. "You know, I used to be very antisocial," he said going for her little game. "Like if it required fake smiling and useless conversations, I would usually find an excuse not to go." He paused. "But ever since the Selection, I think I've had to get over that…"

Quinn smiled and put a hand on his arm. "I don't think you were antisocial. I think you are selectively social."

Alec burst out laughing. "I really like the sound of that, to be honest." He chuckled. "Austin used to say that _I'm not antisocial, I'm anti-idiot_."

They both laughed and continued taking pictures and selfies, making memories and promises. But there were only twelves pictures in each camera, and they were quickly out of them. The fake sky on the 'Dome was beautiful, glittering with stars, and Alec wrapped his arm around her shoulders as she snuggled against him, dreaming of doing this every night with the love of her life. She didn't even want to think what her life would be if he chose someone else… No, she didn't want to go there.

At some point, since nothing else _interesting_ was happening, the Tech guys called the HovoCams back and left the couple alone. Alec breathed a sigh of relief not to be on display anymore. They stayed like that, unmoving, wishing for time to stop. Neither one of them wanted the evening to end, because both new this would either be their Last Date, or the first of a long series to come.

Around one in the morning, Alec walked Quinn back to her own room, kissed her like it was the last time and went back to his room, stared at the ceiling for an hour and finally fell asleep. How he was going to choose was still a mystery to him. one minute he knew who he was going to choose, and the next he wanted someone else. This was definitely the most difficult decision of his entire existence.

* * *

 _ **Heeyyy! thanks for your reviews on the previous chapter! I hope you liked this one, too** (it was super long, oops) **!**_

 _ **For the four remaining girls: could you start looking for a dress for the Last Report (it'll be on chapter 49), when Alec will make his choice? And post it on Pinterest? Thanks!** (did you see we have 3.3k pins? hahahaha! and for those who haven't seen it yet, there's a new section for Alistair! ;))_

 _ **See you soon for the next chapter!** (OMG, only 2-3 left!)_


	48. Chapter 48

**Chapter 48**

The next morning, Wednesday morning, Alec decided to take the time to have breakfast with the others. He knew there were only a few days left of the Selection, and he wanted to enjoy the most of them as he could. When he arrived, there was only Avonlea there, yet.

"Aves?" Alec said surprised. "I thought you were leaving with Alistair last night. Back to New England."

Avonlea smirked. "Yeah, well I told him I'd be joining him later. I want to be here until the end of your Selection. I'll be going to Europe this weekend. And," she added, poking him in the chest with a finger, "I'll be there Friday for the Report, with a surprise."

Alec raised an eyebrow in response. "Oh?" As if having to make his choice wasn't a prospect enough. Now Avonlea had to bring up one of her crazy ideas?

"But I'm not telling you."

"Obviously," he said piling three waffles on his plate with a mountain of whipped cream and strawberries.

"Don't worry, you'll like it. I promise."

He chuckled and went to sit down next to his sister. "Thanks, by the way. For staying a little longer."

"Are you kidding me? I would never miss this. I've been here from the start. I've groomed the girls, and now you're going to make your choice. Seriously! She'll also going to be my sister-in-law, you know?"

"Right," Alec said just as the four girls walked in together in the breakfast dining room.

"Oh, good morning, Your Majesty," Quinn said happily, with no mockery in her voice. "We haven't seen you in a long time at breakfast."

The Emperor chuckled. "Yeah, well, His Majesty realized there were only three days to Friday…" he trailed off.

The girls giggled awkwardly, wanting to keep things light, but still sad that it was almost over. They went to the buffet and filled their plates – mostly with fruit and healthy food – and sat at the table with Avonlea and Alec. There was only one spot left next to Alec, and no one seemed to be choosing this place. Addison was the last one to join the table, and sat next to Alec.

No one talked for a little while, until Eryn broke the silence.

"So, Alec," she said, avoiding Quinn's stare. "What have you planned on your royal schedule, today?"

Alec finished chewing his waffle and swallowed. "A long and boring meeting this morning, and paperwork this afternoon." He didn't mention his date with Addison in the evening, since everyone already knew. He paused and looked at Eryn. "Would you like to see what a meeting with my advisors looks like?" he asked.

Eryn looked around the table, but Alec was clearly talking to her. "Uhm, yes, of course," she said. "I'd be honored."

"Good," he said wiping his mouth with a fabric napkin. "I'll meet you in my office in fifteen minutes, then." He then finally looked around the table at the others. "I'll see you at lunch," he said with a slight bow.

Quinn and the others were suddenly very jealous. "I can't believe it," Quinn hissed when Alec was out of earshot. "How dare you?"

"I didn't do anything," Eryn said defensively. "I simply asked him what he was doing today. No one was talking. Someone had to say something."

"And it had to be you," Quinn snapped back. She stood and threw her napkin on the table. "I'll be in my room," she said.

"Quinn, wait," Addison said, following her, leaving Avonlea with Eryn and Thalia alone.

But just then, Alec came back as if he had forgotten something, almost bumping into Quinn and Addison. "Actually," he said, "you're all coming. Join me in fifteen minutes in my office." He nodded once, oblivious to the catastrophe that almost occurred, and walked away to get ready.

The girls froze for a second before scrambling to their feet to get ready to meet Alec in his office. Avonlea was left alone at the breakfast table, and chuckled. "I'll have to congratulate him on avoiding a war," she mumbled to herself, amused, sipping her coffee.

A few minutes later, two people walked in the room and Avonlea looked up, surprised.

"Austin? Francesca?" she stood and hugged her brother and his fiancée. "I wasn't expecting you until Friday."

"Yeah, I know," Austin said. "But don't worry, Alec won't know we're here until Friday," he winked. "Besides, I bet he's too busy to even notice us."

Avonlea chuckled. "You have no idea." The trio walked away to the Women's Room for a catching up chat.

-x-

Fifteen minutes later, the girls arrived at Alec's office, and he guided them to the Conference room.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Alec said to his advisors, "The Elite will be part of today's meeting, as observers." He paused. "Everything said in here, stays in here," he added, addressing the girls.

"Of course," they said in unison and took the last four seats Alec had asked to be added. The girls were most curious about what a meeting with the Advisors was, but quickly realized they were out of their league. They didn't understand half of what was going on, to be honest. All they could catch was talk about budgets, budgets cuts, security matters, and Alec had to give his opinion and decision on everything. Sometimes, when he didn't know, he told them he would give them his answer the next day.

They tried, really, to understand everything, but when Alec ended the meeting because it was time for his 'guests' to eat, the girls were extremely happy.

"So," Alec asked, once they were seated and the Androids brought the dishes. "What did you think about the meeting?"

The girls looked at each other, but Quinn said. "It was very interesting, really. I've learned so much. You must be exhausted after a week full of meetings," she said.

Alec chuckled. "You get used to them, I guess."

"I wonder," Addison said. "Did your mother attend, assisting your father?"

Alec nodded. "She did, most of time, unless she had something else holding her back." He smiled at the memory of his mother. "She liked to know everything that happened in Illéa and oversees." He frowned, remembering something. "She used to always know exactly what to say to persuade the Advisors or my father about so many subjects," he said. He and Quinn exchanged a look, remembering their conversations about his mother.

"And there is really a meeting like this every single day?" Thalia asked. "It takes a lot of your time."

"Yes," Alec said. "It does. But we usually take only the morning. Unless there's an emergency, of course."

-x-

Alec met with Addison at around six o'clock. She had told him to wear something comfortable and warm enough for the end of the evening. Fall was soon coming over Angeles, and they would be outside the 'Dome, where the weather and temperature were not regulated. She was wearing a navy-blue and white striped three-quarter sleeve top with a high waist pink skirt blooming from her waist, with a pair of navy-blue flats.

Alec smiled when he saw her. "My, Addie, you look gorgeous."

"Thank you," she said, blushing slightly and trying a curtsy. She invited him in the HovoTransport where, again, Jasper Baldwin was waiting for them already.

Alec chuckled when he saw his security detail. "You get to go on every date, Jasper?"

Jasper chuckled. "Yes, but as the third wheel, I'm afraid," he joked. "So please don't mind me."

All three laughed as the Transport took off.

"So, where are we going?" Alec asked casually.

"Surprise," Addison said. "It'll ruin everything if I tell you." She smirked and Alec took her hand in his.

"Fine," he said, smiling.

"But don't worry. The place has been secured."

"I don't doubt it," Alec said, trying not to toll his eyes. "The Emperor can't just go outside without ten people making sure no one kills him."

The trip was short – just half a dozen minutes – and took them to the shore, where a Luxury Carver Yacht was waiting for them. Alec raised an eyebrow, intrigued, but Addie simply grinned.

"After you, Your Majesty," she said, letting him go inside first.

Alec rolled his eyes, but obeyed, for the sake of the HovoCams around them. If there was one place he wanted to forget he was the Emperor and 'His Majesty' was when he was on a date with one if his Elite. Again, the trip didn't take long, just fifteen minutes, and Alec couldn't wait to know where they were heading.

"Are you sure you don't want to tell me where we're going?" he asked.

"I'm sure," she said. "But we can open a bottle of Pinot Noir to pass the time on the short trip," she suggested taking out a bottle from a basket near their lounging sofa.

"Ah, that we can do," Alec said taking a glass from Addie and letting her fill it with the burgundy liquid. They sipped their wine, enjoying the Angeles 'Dome becoming smaller and smaller by the minute, which actually meant they were getting away from all this, and fast.

When the engines started to die down a bit, Alec stood from the lounging sofa and went to the prow of the Yacht and laughed. "Oh my God," he said. "I haven't been to _Carnival Island_ in a decade! This is so great!"

Addison joined him and stood at his side. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "I can't believe you actually pulled this off in just a couple days," he said.

"It wasn't an easy task," she admitted, "but it was fun to organize."

Alec and Addie stepped out of the boat and onto the peer, and walked hand in hand to the entrance of the Carnival; Jasper Baldwin and two other Security details walked behind them, with the HovoCams surrounding the couple – one behind, one in the front, and one already in the Carnival, filming the people and activities.

Addie had been careful to have only a selective two hundred people the Palace Security had to check to make sure nothing happened to Alec. These people were mostly Twos and Threes, with a handful of Fours, and Alec knew some of them.

"So, what should we start with?" Alec asked, a grin on his face.

"Let's go see what inspires us," she suggested, pulling Alec along. Many food stands stood along the entrance, but neither was interested in eating yet. Alec's eyes landed on a 'Toss a Coin' game.

"Oh, we should definitely do that," he said, and Addie nodded, happy to see Alec displaying such enthusiasm. She let Alec play, delighting in him having fun. He played several games, until he won – on the third game – and won a huge teddy bear and offered it to Addison. It wasn't too big, so she could carry it without a problem. Next, on their way, they found some pink cotton candy and Alec bought one for each, which they ate, getting their cheeks and fingers sticky. And at some point, she asked Jasper if he could carry the Teddy bear for her, which officially placed him as the third wheel, and everyone laughed.

Their next stop was the fortune teller. Alec wasn't sure he wanted to know his future, so he told Addie to go in. She hesitated, but went bravely inside. She was afraid of what the Seer might tell her.

The Seer, a young woman in her twenties with emerald green eyes, asked Addie to place her hand on a large tablet. The tablet scanned her hand several times, making calculations. The Seer then took the tablet and read those calculations.

"According to the lines in your hand, Lady Addison," she said, without even having to ask her name, since the tablet recognized the fingerprints, "you have royal blood," she stated, which made Alec frown in surprise. "You are still a virgin, but you will find love." The Seer paused, frowning at the calculations.

"What is it?" Addison asked.

The Seer looked at her and sighed. "The love of your life will not come into your life right away," she said, quickly looking at Alec, knowing well enough that the end of the Selection was near, "but when it comes, you'll know right away and it'll last a lifetime." She put the tablet down and Jasper Baldwin linked with the Seer with his Contacts and payed her her fee.

"Thanks, I guess," Addison said to the Seer.

"You're welcome," she replied. "I wish you luck." Then she turned to Alec. "Would you like to have your future read, Your Majesty?"

"I'm afraid I can't even if I wanted to," he declined, knowing all too well what could happen to his handprint scanned by the Tablet would it land in the wrong hands. They said goodbye and left the Seer's house to continue on their exploring of the Carnival. It had changed a great deal since Alec last came with his siblings when he was thirteen years old.

"Addie, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," she said.

"What did the Seer mean when she said you had royal blood?"

Addison didn't reply right away. "It's just that… I'm related to the French Duchess, through my mother."

"Oh. How?"

"My mother and duchess are half-sisters, from the same father. My mother was an illegitimate child, and told no one. I learned it by accident."

"Huh," Alec said. "Interesting. And do you have contacts with the Duchess?"

"No," Addison said. "I'm not even sure she knows about her half-sister," she said slowly. "But let's not talk about this," she said. "What about a Ferris Wheel ride?" she suggested as they arrived at the foot of the Ferris Wheel.

"Yes please," Alec said, trying to look above the wheel. "Shall we?" he offered his hand to Addie and they both stood in line, waiting for their turn.

"Do you believe what she said? About the love of your life?" Alec suddenly asked.

Addis shrugged. "I don't know. I suppose technological calculations based on your fingerprints don't lie?" She sighed. "I shouldn't have gone in there."

A couple minutes later, it was their turn, and Alec helped Addie into the seat. He sat next to her and they slowly made their way up, up, up. The purple sky with millions of tiny diamonds was mesmerizing and they both enjoyed the ride up in a comfortable silence. The laughs and screams and lights of the carnival on the ground seemed far away as Alec stared as Addie's profile. Startled, she looked up at him and blushed. Fireworks exploded just then in the background and reflected in his ice blue eyes, making the sight dazzling. Alec leaned in to kiss her, but stopped just in time, remembering she had never done this before, and how Avonlea had reminded him not to hurt her. But if this kiss would hurt her if he didn't choose–

He didn't have time to finish his thought because she was the one to lean in and close the gap between them. She placed her delicate lips tasting of raspberry and kissed him ever so lightly, like a feather brushing his lips. It was the gentlest and most romantic kiss Alec had ever had. He reached with his hand in her dark, soft hair and kissed her back, as gently and tenderly as he could, as if she would break at the slightest wrong move.

The HovoCams hovering around them took in everything in the scene – the kiss, the fireworks, the Carnival below them – but Alec and Addie completely forgot about the Cams.

Slowly, the Ferris Wheel continued its way down, and the moment was over. When they stepped out of the seat, they were in some kind of daze. The couple walked aimlessly in silence and ended up at a churro stand. They bought a cone full and walked away. As the churros went down, they relaxed a bit and laughed again. Alec tried to shoot in a stand and won a huge bag of candies. Around ten o'clock – The Emperor couldn't stay out all night, for security measures, of course – they headed back to their boat and Alec thought they would be home in half an hour.

Only, Addie had other plans. They stopped in the middle of the bay, half way to the _Carnival Island_ and Angeles and she took out the basket and opened it.

"I spent the whole day cooking for tonight," she said, smirking, but when Alec saw the menu – very gastronomical – he chuckled. "Okay, fine," she said, laughing. "It was actually the Master Chef Jaxon Jinx who made it."

"You're serious? Jaxon Jinx?"

She nodded and they both enjoyed the dish, and it was actually a twist on the ones they had baked during the Cooking Competition Avonlea had organized.

-x-

When Alec woke up on Thursday morning, he knew this was the last day before he had to make his choice. Thus, he woke up at four a.m., unable to sleep anymore. Instead of tossing and turning to try to sleep again, he simply went to his Screen Closet and ordered a comfy pair of sweatpants and hoodie over a t-shirt and tiptoed out of his room. His first thought was to go to the roof to see the sun rise in a couple hours. He could use the tranquility, up there.

When he stepped out of the Vacuum unto the roof, he was met with a light wind and he breathed in deeply, his hands stuffed in his pockets, and the hood over his head. He walked to the edge of the roof and just stared at the illuminated city, down below, the city that never slept. He stayed there, unmoving. Until he heard footsteps behind him, and he turned around to find a surprised Eryn still in her nightgown.

"Oh, Alec, I'm sorry, I didn't know you would be up here."

"It's fine," he said. "I couldn't sleep."

"Neither could I," she admitted, not offering anything else. She couldn't tell him how nervous she was about the Selection ending. And talking about it would make things even more real. They stayed together, in silence, watching the city and the sun rise. HovoTransports were toing and froing over the city, making the city seem like a busy beehive. Even at six in the morning.

"I think I should go back inside," Alec said. I've got a lot of things to get done before this evening." He smiled and took her hand in his. "What time do you want me?"

 _Now_ , she almost said. "Six o'clock? Main Entrance Hall?"

He met her gaze and nodded once. "I'll be there," he said, kissing the back of her hand. He seemed to have difficulty leaving, but he really had to get ready to tackle the day. A good long shower would help him.

Twelve hours later, Alec, arrived in a smart navy-blue pullover with beige pants and some fancy Italian shoes, joining Eryn, dressed in a simple striped gray and white skirt with a white t-shirt.

She smiled when she saw him, and both completely ignored and forgot the HovoCams around them. It seemed that when they were together, there was nothing else around them.

"So," he said, rubbing his hands together. "Where are we going tonight?"

"Um, just a few floors downstairs."

He raised a curious eyebrow. "VR game?"

"Nope," she said. "Been there, done that, already."

"Okay… then where?"

"Come on," she said, tugging him along, grinning.

They arrived on the fifth floor and Alec laughed when Eryn pushed the Kitchen doors.

"Ah," the Chef said. "We were waiting for you, Your Majesty, Lady Eryn," he said bowing and the rest of the kitchen staff stopped what they were doing and curtsied or bowed to their Monarch and his date. "This way," the Chef said, inviting the couple in an adjoining room, where the center table was adorned with all kinds of utensils, ingredients, actual old-fashion paper books, and pans. "At your request, My Lady," he said to Eryn. "And Matheus, here, is going to assist you, shall you require anything."

A young man in his thirties with chocolate brown eyes and unnatural white hair bowed. "At your service," he said.

The Chef retired to the main kitchen room where he was in the middle of preparing dinner for the others.

"So," Eryn said. "I thought we could cook or bake something together, and then eat it for dinner."

Alec laughed and walked to the table to grab a recipe book. "Excellent idea, Eryn. In that case, I need to know if you have a sweet tooth or not."

She smirked and joined him, taking a Cake recipe book. "I do. Especially if it includes honey."

"I could have guessed that," Alec said. "So we make only dessert and eat only dessert. With honey."

"Yes please!" Eryn said, leafing through a book with many mouth-watering pictures. "Oh wow… Do you like figs? Because this cake looks amazing!" she said, showing him a picture. "Or look at this Naked Honey Cake."

Alec's belly grumbled and they both laughed. "The Naked Honey Cake sounds good," he said, and Eryn flattened the book on the table to see the recipe. She read out loud the ingredients – eggs, flour, milk, salt, sugar, cream cheese, cinnamon, and of course honey – and they proceeded to follow the recipe. Matheus gave them a few tricks here and there, but stayed out of the way as much as possible. First, they had to bake the different layers and then torte them – cut them in half to make them thinner, and Matheus helped them with that – once they were cooled down. While the layers were baking, they had to make the filling, which they piped in large circles, covering the whole layers. And over and over again, until the last layer, which they sprinkled with powdered sugar. By that point, they were both covered in flour and frosting, licking their fingers and grinning.

"Should we decorate it?" Eryn asked, and Alec's belly grumbled again, louder, in response.

"I don't think it'll be necessary," he said, feigning seriousness, and both laughed.

Matheus gave them a knife, plates and forks. Alec started cutting the cake and it kind of fell apart. The recipe said to chill the cake for thirty minutes, but Eryn and Alec didn't have time for that. They were hungry.

They ate their first piece in silence, but laughing, eating after an hour and a half of work. After that, they started to feed each other, laughing, completely oblivious about the HovoCams filming Live. There was lots of jokes and giggles, and neither one of them wanted the evening to end. So they ate the cake to the last crumb, not keeping anything for anyone.

"Oh, my God," Eryn said, a hand on her belly. "I think I'm having a food baby."

Alec almost choked on his last piece of cake and looked down at Eryn's belly, which did have a tiny bump. And he remembered how excited he had been to learn he was going to be a father… a long, long time ago.

"A food baby," Alec repeated, not sure about the wording.

Eryn laughed. "You've never heard the expression before?"

"I'm afraid I haven't," he said, still staring at her belly and thought how pretty she looked with a baby bump – even if it was only a food baby…

They sat back a moment, unable to move, due to too much eating.

"That was seriously a lot of fun," Alec said. "I never thought cooking could be this fun! Last time I cooked I had no idea what I was doing. But this? This is something different."

Eryn smiled. "I'm glad you enjoyed it, Alec."

He took her hand and held on to it as if it was a lifeline, not able to tear his gaze away from her, all covered in flower, her cheeks pink, and her genuine smile and blue eyes.

-x-

Now he had to make a choice… but he still had twenty-four hours. Or less. He would have to make his choice before the Report so as not to look like a fool. He doubted he would get any sleep that night.

* * *

 _ **Daaaaaamn... I can't believe it's almost over... and the story just passed 140K words...!**_

 _ **I had so much fun looking for some aesthetics for the four Final Dates, and they're on Pinterest ;) go take a look!**_

 _ **Thanks for your reviews and for the Last Report Dresses you posted ;)**_ (I still need Addie's dress^^)

 _ **See you soon for the last chapter!**_ (I don't know if there's going to be an epilogue yet, we'll see^^ but I like doing "ten years later" epilogues! haha)


	49. Chapter 49

**Chapter 49**

As suspected, Alec couldn't sleep. But he had taken care of that by asking Dr. Marshall to send him in his Vacuum Box a couple sleeping pills. He took them both without hesitation and slept a dreamless sleep.

"Your Majesty?" he felt someone tap a hand on his shoulder. "Your Majesty."

Alec woke with a start to find himself face to face with Joel Li, his faithful valet.

"Li? What time is it?" Alec mumbled, rubbing his face.

"Seven thirty, Your Majesty," he said. "You asked to be woken in case you didn't naturally."

"Right," he said, kicking the warm covers away. He was wearing only his boxers and sat on the edge of his bed, taking his head in his hand.

"The shower is ready, sir," Li said. Then, "Have you made your decision, yet, Your Majesty?"

Alec grunted. "Yeah. I think so."

Li chuckled. "If I may, Your Majesty?" Alec looked up. "You are going to be married to the lady for the rest of your life. I suggest you chose the one you can't live without."

Alec threw one of his pillows at Li, who caught it, chuckling. "I know that," Alec grumbled, heading to the bathroom and stripped. He let the cold water help his blood flow correctly in his veins, until his skin prickled, then he turned the water warmer.

When he was done, Li presented him a comfortable suit for his morning meeting. "You'll be wearing something much more regal, tonight, for the Report," Li said.

Alec rolled his eyes. Of course, he would. For some reason, he couldn't face the girls before the Report. He knew it would make him waver and change his mind ten times during the day. He needed to stay focused. He told Li to have his usual breakfast sent to his office, and ate it without even thinking, reading reports before going to the meeting.

"Your Majesty," Mikael Bacchian said once the meeting was opened. "We have some news concerning the attack during the Convicting."

Alec raised an eyebrow. "You found the guy? Or woman?"

"Yes," Bacchian said. "The information came last night, someone had information to give in exchange for money. We spent the rest of the night checking his story, and everything he said checks out. The man is behind bars as we speak."

"And who was it?"

Bacchian cleared his throat. "I'm afraid it was Dr. Marshall, Your Majesty."

"I'm sorry, what?" Alec said, tensing. "Why would Dr. Marshall do such a thing?"

"He ordered it, Your Majesty. We have a security video of him talking with another man, and I'm sure you know about the LipRead technology we have." Bacchian nodded to his second-in-command, who placed a HoloSphere on the table. A Holovid appeared and Alec saw and heard Marshall talking with a man in one of the less used Palace corridors. Not everyone knew where all the Security HovoCams were hidden. Then the second-in-command pressed a button and they saw that same man entering the Convicting room early in the morning on that fateful day and working on something under the Thrones. He had his back to the camera, but it was quite obvious what he was doing.

"But that does not answer my question," Alec said. "Why would he order such a thing?"

This time it was General Vinsent who spoke. "Because he was the one who funded the kidnappings. He didn't give us any explanation as to why he was a Patron to such an activity. The four men who were Convicted knew of the Bomb. And it was their job to trigger it. And," he said, taking a breath, "I'm afraid he never truly liked your father or your mother. He had a real fondness for you and wanted to see you on the Throne. Apparently, he knew of the document signed by your parentsm we still don't know how he got wind of it, though." He paused. "He found this was the best occasion and took it, Your Majesty."

"But this is ridiculous," Alec said. "Surely Marshall knew he would be executed if he was found."

"Yes," the General said. "But during the interrogation early this morning, he said it was worth the risk. It was only a matter of time before we got to the bottom of this."

"And the one who actually planted the bomb?" Alec asked. "Did you find him?"

Vinsent shook his head. "We were unable to make a facial recognition on the HoloVid, and his fingerprints have been destroyed in the explosion. We're still looking for him." He paused. "But we think he's not at your Service anymore."

"He better not be," Alec muttered.

After closing the subject, they wanted to know Alec's choice of a bride, but he refused to tell them, saying that he wanted so surprise everyone during the Report that evening.

After that, he spent the day avoiding everyone, even refusing to talk even to Chris or Avonlea. There were four paths in front of him, and he could choose only one, and never come back.

An hour before the Report, Joel Li come in, knocking, with a brand-new gray suit on his arms. "Your late mother had chosen the suit before she, uhm… passed away, Your Majesty," Li explained.

 _Even in her death, she wants to control everything_ , Alec thought. He stripped from the one he wore until now and let Li help him dress. When he was ready, he looked at himself in the mirror. It was a modern three-piece tailcoat suit with a dark gray patterned tie and kerchief. He tied his hair in a clean pony-tail at the nape of his neck and Li placed his Ceremonial Crown on Alec's head.

"Is this necessary?" Alec asked, talking about the Crown.

Li cleared his throat. "I'm afraid, yes. You are the Emperor, and about to choose your wife, tonight. It calls for the Ceremonial Crown, Your Majesty."

"Fine," Alec muttered. He checked the time on the bottom right of his field of vision. Only fifteen minutes left. "I should go," he said, not moving. "I'm sure Clyde will have many things to tell me before the Report." Still, he didn't move. He was frozen in place.

"Of course, sir," Li said, snapping Alec back to reality. The Emperor headed for the door, before coming back and grabbing a small red velvet box. The ring. He couldn't forget the ring. How ridiculous that would look.

He took the Vacuum and landed a few seconds later on the fourth floor and took a deep breath before entering the Report room. Thank goodness the girls were not in there, already.

Clyde Volt quickly joined Alec. "Your Majesty," he said, bowing. "You can't imagine how excited I am about tonight's Report," he grinned, to which Alec forced out a smile. "Sir Markus will say a few words, concerning the attack and how they found the culprit." He checked his tablet. "Then, I'll be inviting the ladies to join me on the stage, and then that's when you come in, and announce your choice, following tradition." He looked up at Alec. "Do you have any questions, sir?"

"No," Alec said. "Thank you." He took a deep breath.

"It's going to be alright, Alec," Clyde said, lowering his voice. "Just focus on the woman you love, and all will be well."

Alec nodded once and tried a smile. But the truth was, he was petrified. What if he tripped? Or said her name wrong? Or mixed up the names? Or stuttered? Or what if he simply froze, unable to say anything? Everything and anything could go wrong, really.

"Ten minutes!" the stage director called. Just then, the four young women came in, all head high, in magnificent dresses. Alec's heart jumped in his chest at the sight. They all curtsied in unison to him and went directly to their seats. They knew it was no use trying to sway him, now. Surely, he had made his choice.

"Hey, man," Alec heard behind him, and he turned around at the familiar voice.

"Austin? Dude, what are you doing here?" Alec asked, a genuine smile on his face, hugging his little brother.

"Well, we came for the big night," he replied. "You remember Cheska?"

Alec looked at the beautiful young brunette at his side. "Oh, my goodness," Alec said, taking Francesca's hand in his and kissing it. "Of course, I remember Cheska. How could I forget?"

Cheska curtsied. "You're Majesty."

Alec chuckled. "Thanks, but no. You're practically family," he said, smiling. "Don't do that with me."

Cheska smiled back as Austin wrapped his arm around his fiancée. "We'll be in the audience," he said. "And if you need anything, just look for me, okay?"

"Thanks, man," Alec said. "Really."

"Five minutes!"

Alec went to his own seat, on the other side of the stage, facing the girls. Now he could look at them without being too obvious. Addison was wearing a brocade cream sleeveless ball gown, even more beautiful than ever before. Quinn was beautiful in a grey tulle dress with thousands of pearls and crystals sewn on it. She was wearing a simple white makeup and her hair down, just like Alec liked it. Eryn was wearing a long-sleeved turquoise dress, with turquoise brocade and pearls making elegant designs on the fabrics. She had a darker turquoise belt emphasizing her thin waist. Thalia went for a strapless dark blue dress, almost black, with constellations sewn in silver thread with Swarovski crystals making the stars. Very fitting and reminding Alec of their last date.

"One minute!" the stage director said, and the Live Audience fell silent, waiting. Tonight, Illéa would meet their future Empress. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the long-awaited moment.

But first, Sir Markus gave a few words, but nobody cared. Even Alec completely tuned him out, looking for Austin in the Live Audience. He found him on the first row, between his sister and his fiancée, holding tight to Cheska's hand, and staring at Alec.

"Now, Ladies and Gents," Clyde said while Sir Markus left the stage, "what you have all been waiting for." He paused for dramatic effect, and turned around. "Ladies? Will you please join me here?"

They girls hesitated, but stood as one and stood in the middle of the stage, their back to Alec.

"Are you ready?" he asked them, and they nodded. They all held each other's hands tightly, seeming to be unified in this moment. Quinn was the first one on the left, followed by Thalia, Eryn and Addison.

Alec took a deep breath and waited for Clyde's signal. Once it was his turn, he took the cubic box under his throne and put it on the seat. He opened it and took out a magnificent tiara, a few centuries old piece of jewelry that had been in the Schreave family for that same amount of years. It was made of diamonds beyond value and dazzled in the spotlight. Alec held it in front of him and above the ladies' heads. Their back was to him, so they didn't know what he was doing. Usually, tradition dictated that Alec should put the tiara from behind on the head of the woman he chose. But Alec wanted to look her in the eye when choosing her. So he walked around them and stood in front of them with the tiara in his hands, his back to the Audience, still holding its breath.

Alec looked up to the girls, meeting their gaze one after the other. But he had already made his choice, and the name was already engraved in the ring. His heart was beating so hard in his chest that he could barely breathe. Then he locked his gaze with hers and took a step toward her, placing the tiara on her head.

"Eryn Amelia Vega," he said. "I choose you to be my wife. Will you marry me?" he said all in one breath. Eryn's face lit up and she grinned from ear to ear.

"Yes!" she breathed out.

The Audience stood as one and cheered as Alec kissed Eryn in front of the whole country. The three other Elites took a couple steps back and applauded. Thalia and Addison were genuinely happy for Eryn, even if they did shed a tear a two. Quinn's heart was broken. But for his sake and because this was going Live, she decided to keep her chin high and to smile to the world.

When Alec finally broke their kiss, he stepped aside, next to Eryn and gave her a magnificent rose gold honeycomb shaped diamond ring, which Eryn accepted with a choked happy sob.

Clyde didn't even have the time to end the Report when a whole group of girls stepped on the stage, led by Princess Avonlea herself. She stopped in front of Alec. "Surprise," she grinned, steeping to the side so Alec and Eryn could see who was joining them on the stage. And it was none other than many of the Selected!

Blair, Danielle, Callisto, Jessica, Kira, Katia, Catiena, Korina, Yana, and even Petra back from England. They hugged Eryn and curtsied to the Emperor, and Clyde Volt ended the Report on this happy note. The curtains closed on the group finding each other again, and Alec suddenly felt lighter than he had been in months. He stood on the side next to his sister.

"Thanks, Aves. This is really cool," he grinned.

"See? I told you you'd like my surprise, Your Majesty."

Alec chuckled, wrapped an arm around her shoulders and planted a kiss on her cheek. "You deserve _The Best Sister_ award, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," she said. "But it wasn't easy. Some couldn't come, or didn't want to come. I did my best."

"And it's awesome," he said as Eryn joined him, surrounded by all her Selection friends. They all walked to the dining room, chatting and laughing together, And Eryn showed her ring to the others. Alec noticed Quinn heading for the Vacuum, a hand over her mouth, smoldering a sob. He was about to go after her to try to explain, but Avonlea held him back.

"Not now, Alec. She knew what she signed up for. Only one could win your heart and your hand in marriage. You'll tell her goodbye tomorrow morning."

Alec sighed and nodded. He knew she was right. He couldn't run after Quinn, especially after asking Eryn to marry him. So he focused on his beautiful new fiancée, and dinner had never been this happy and cheerful in a long time. Even Theodore was were, genuinely smiling, maybe forgetting his sadness just for an evening.

And Alec was happy. Truly happy. He was surrounded by the love of his life, his friends, and his family. What else would he ask for?

 **~ THE END ~**

* * *

 _ **Well, not entirely true... it's not the end, only the start of a new story. But I'm not going to write this one ^^**_

 _ **I will, however, write an epilogue to this story, which will take place 15 years later. So, if you submitted a girl and you're still reading, could you answer a few questions for me, so I can write this epilogue? THANK YOU SO MUCH! **_(You can copy/paste the questions and answer them in the same PM than your character)

\- Is she married?

\- if yes, to whom? what is his/her name and job?

\- Do they have children?

\- if yes, how many and what are their names?

\- if not married, what is she doing? what is her life like at the moment?

\- Is she still friends with Eryn?

\- Anything you'd like to add, any random stuff...

 _ **THANKS! I'll see you for the epilogue, but it might take a bit longer, since i'll be waiting for your answers ;)**_


	50. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

 _Fifteen years later…_

"Mom! Wake up!"

Eryn and Alec were suddenly woken from a comfortable sleep with a little person jumping up and down on the giant Royal Bed.

"Daaad, come on! Wake up!"

Alec groaned. "Astrid, go to bed."

"Nooo!" Princess Astrid sang. "It's my birthday, and I can do whatever I want, today!"

Eryn sighed and closed her eyes tighter, snuggling against her husband. "What time is it?" she mumbled.

"I don't know, and I don't care!" Astrid continued, jumping up and down on the bed.

"Ow!" Eryn yelped. "Careful, our feet!"

"Oops, sorry," Astrid said, finally sitting down.

Alec opened his eyes and looked on the right bottom corner of his vision, looking for the time. "Damn it, Astrid. It's six in the morning."

"But it's my birthday! You promised we would go to Carnival Island!" she whined.

Alec chuckled. "Yes, but not at six in the morning. We're going this evening. After you had your Contacts put on." Astrid was now twelve, the perfect age to get her Contacts.

"'morning," another voice, male, resonated, coming in the room.

"Ah," Alec said sarcastically. "Prince Ayden. Welcome. We were just having a six a.m. family reunion."

"Without me?" Ayden said. "How dare you?" He climbed on the bed and sat next to his little sister. "Happy birthday, princess," he said, placing a kiss on her cheek. Astrid beamed. Ayden was not the one to show physical affection to anyone: only when necessary, and only to his sister, who was sixteen months younger than him.

"Where's Alina?" he asked, looking around.

"Still sleeping, I presume," Eryn said. "How lucky she is." And besides, Alina could not get out of her bed alone, since it was still a toddler's bed with bars and all.

Eryn reached to the touch screen on the wall near the bed and ordered the _birthday breakfast in bed_ , like planned, only a little earlier… Fifteen minutes later, three Androids came into the room and brought trays with so many things to choose from: waffles, scones, croissants, pancakes, beignets, hot chocolate, coffee, tea, and so on. Ayden and Astrid dug in with wild abandon, while Alec and Eryn smiled and watched. Alina was brought in by a Nurse Maid and the whole family was complete, and happy. All three children had blue eyes like their parents, and brown hair, too. The two older, Astrid and Ayden, had waves and curls, but Alina's were as straight as rods. It was impossible to put even the smallest hair pin in her hair, it always slipped.

Alec and Eryn had taken the day off: no meetings, no interviews, nothing. It was just them. They did this five days a year, for each birthday. It was like a little holiday. The next one would be in a couple weeks, for Eryn's birthday. And since she was turning 35, they had decided to plan a party and to invite most of their closest friends.

-x-

Two weeks later, the Palace was in an uproar. Servant and Androids were coming and going with decorations, plates, lights, and anything needed to make Eryn's birthday party perfect.

But Eryn was nervous. She had invited most of the Selected. Most of them had replied, but some persisted in never replying, even when she wrote. She knew the Selection had been a bad experience for some of them – Verramine, for example – and she knew she shouldn't be insisting on contacting them, but she still did.

Eryn didn't want to make a whole fuss about the party, but Alec – and especially Astrid – insisted that she wore her best gown and tiara. She was the Empress, after all. So Eryn accepted and decided on a royal blue lace dress with a matching tiara with blue stones.

Guests started arriving at around five o'clock.

"Your Majesty," Thalia said, curtsying to Eryn and Alec.

Eryn rolled her eyes. She still didn't get used to being called that, and especially not by her dearest friend. She quickly walked up to her and hugged Thalia. "I'm so glad you could come, Lia," she said.

"I would not miss this for anything in the world, Eryn," Thalia replied, a grin playing on her lips. "You remember Noah?"

"Yes, of course!" Eryn said. "Welcome, Noah."

"Thank you, Ma'am," he said.

"So, how are the wedding preparations going on?" Eryn asked as she walked Thalia to the side, for a private conversation.

"Excellent," Thalia said. "But you know we're not in a hurry…"

"I know," she said. "But I didn't have the chance to plan my own. It was done so fast and by professional wedding planners. I didn't even have to choose my dress! So _please_ let me enjoy yours." They both burst out laughing, just as the next guest arrived. Alone as ever.

"Quinn," Eryn said, coming over to her friend. She and Quinn had mended their friendship over the years, and Quinn now worked for the Emperor as an advisor in her field of expertise, Technology Intelligence Agent. "How are you?" she said briefly hugging her.

"Great," Quinn said, a little too forcefully. "Happy birthday."

"Thank you. Thalia is already here, if you want to see her, too."

Quinn nodded and walked over to Thalia.

"Eryn!" Katia squealed as she entered the Entrance Hall, Grayson by her side holding their daughter's hand, Venus.

"Katia!" Eryn said and practically tackled her into a hug. Alec and Grayson chuckled at the sight, clearly there was no etiquette or protocol, but who cares, right? This was a private party, no use pretending anything. "Oh my God, I'm so happy to see you!"

"Me too!" Katia said. "Vee, say hi to Aunt Eryn."

Venus tried a curtsy – failing miserably – and Eryn laughed and took the girl in her arms.

"Venus, thank you for your very pretty curtsy," she said. "Astrid and Ayden are waiting for you in the ball room," she added, and Vee ran to see her friends.

Katia and Grayson headed to the ballroom with the others, while other guests arrived, none other and the English delegation: King Alistair with his wife Queen Avonlea and their two sons, Charles and Sebastien, along with Prince Leith and Duchess Petra with their own daughters, Eliana and Noemi. Both Eryn and Alec were super happy to see them, since they could only see each other a few days a year. Petra and Leith were in the middle of paperwork for adopting a third child, she couldn't have any more children, due to health issues.

Once their first guests were in the ballroom and Alec and Eryn were alone for a few minutes, while waiting for the next ones, Alec wrapped his arms around his beautiful wife's frame and placed a kiss on her nose. "Happy birthday, honey," he whispered. Obviously, they were as in love as on their wedding day. Even more so, to be honest.

"Ah-ha!" Austin said, stepping inside the huge hall. "You never seem to be able to keep your hands off your wife, Alec," he said, and Alec rolled his eyes and hugged his brother.

"Good to see you, too, Austin."

"Aunt Eryn!" little seven years old Rosa said, running to Eryn, who caught her mid-run and twirled her into the air.

"Well, hello there, Rosa," she said, placing a kiss on the girl's cheek. "It's great you came, because Astrid is waiting for you upstairs." She put her niece down and looked at her eleven-year-old nephew. "Wow, Oliver. You've grown so much since last time!"

Oliver rolled his eyes and followed his sister to find their cousins.

"Sorry, about that," Cheska said. "He's in a full teenage phase, at the moment."

"Don't worry about it," she said, taking her sister-in-law in her arms. "I'm glad you could come, especially in your condition." She placed a hand on Cheska's growing belly and smiled. Royalty, even ones that became royal through marriage, had to have their own babies: they were not allowed to use the Artificial Wombs.

Austin and Cheska headed to the Ballroom just as Eryn's brother, Ezra, came in with Korina. She was no longer an Android, but she did not recover her own body, either. And she wasn't a clone of herself, either. It was brand new bio-technology, a flesh and bone body recreated from her old self, but healthy and resembling it, using her genetic code – without the illness – to grow a new body of her own, from fetus to adult – clones were created identical to the age their stem cells had been taken – in an Artificial Womb and growing rapidly. It took two years to get from the fetus to her age, now, 34. Her consciousness had been downloaded in it while her body was growing, and she had been walking in this new body only for a couple years. She had her two children, Connor and Carra, through the Artificial Womb, while she was still an Android, taking her ovum she and Ezra had frozen from her old body, soon after their wedding.

Ezra made a huge deal – on purpose, of course – about bowing to his sister and kissing her hand properly, following etiquette to the letter, which annoyed Eryn immensely, and made Alec and Korina laugh. Eryn's parents arrived soon after, happy to see their daughter, and their grandchildren. It almost seemed like Christmas!

Kira arrived with her husband, a famous Two, a singer, followed by Xandra, who arrived alone. She didn't seem to want to settle down, even at 34, with no serious boyfriend nor a family on the horizon. Her mother was always in Switzerland, having her face and breasts lifted, so Xandra never really saw her mother, anymore. Yana also arrived shortly after with her husband and their daughter, Sarah. Yana married a Five a few years after the Selection, and thus went from being a Seven, to a Three – during and after the Selection – to a Five. And she was perfectly happy.

Chris and Callisto arrived late, as usual, with their three children – Samuel, David, and Sophie, more or less the same ages as the Royal children. They were living not too far from the Palace, and Chris still worked with Alec, having taken his father's place as the Advisor Nano-Weapon Specialist. Eryn and Callisto had become close friends over the years, too.

Addison arrived with her husband, Dr. James Mueller and their two children, Emma and Atticus.

"Addie!" Eryn said, taking her friend in her arms. "Oh, my God! You look so beautiful! How much longer?" she asked, looking down at Addie's round belly.

"Two more months," she replied. "I'm so happy to see you, too!"

Alec shook hands with James, and the kids ran to see the other children, after curtsies and bows, of course.

Just then, Danielle arrived with her husband Jeremy, also a robot scientist, like her. Danielle, too, was pregnant, with their first child.

"Danielle," Eryn said, hugging her friend briefly. They hadn't spoken face to face in years, only sending each other Christmas and birthday cards over the years. "I'm so excited to see you again," she said. "And congratulations," she added, "You must be really happy to be expecting a happy event."

Danielle blushed. "We are," she said. "We've waited so long, and now it's finally possible."

Eryn smiled and took her friend's hands in hers. "Well, I'm really happy you can enjoy motherhood, too. You'll see, it's amazing."

Both women laughed and Danielle, her husband, and Addie and James headed to the Ball room, where the others were already waiting.

Lastly, Catiena arrived with her little sister, Ambrosia, whom she has been raising ever since her step-mother was put into jail. Catiena, still single and unmarried, now worked as a Weapon's Designer and Time Hacking Monitor in the Military. She was happy with her life. Eryn was also super excited to see Catiena again. The last time she had seen her was at their wedding, and it had already been fourteen years.

Once all the guests had arrived for the _private_ birthday party, they simply sat on the sofas and couches that had been brought to the Ball room. A live quartet played some background music. The adults talked and caught up on the years they hadn't seen each other, and the children all played in one of the Game rooms, under the supervision of three maids. Then the children were called for dinner, dinner was served, and they danced and talked and offered Eryn presents during the rest of the evening.

A few minutes before midnight, Alec invited Eryn and the others to join him on the roof. From there, they had the front seats to the fireworks Alec had specifically ordered for the Empress' birthday. Everyone gathered around the city to watch and thousands of messages arrived on the Feeds, wishing their beloved Empress a happy birthday. The Angeles 'Dome had been taken down a few years earlier, the first of a series, thanks to Thalia's Project which resonated in Alec's heart and had her come back to supervise the first dismantling of the 'Domes. Others would follow in the next decade. But for now, only three had been taken down.

Alec held Eryn close to him, and she rested her head on his shoulder. There could not have been a better match.

* * *

 _ **This time, it's a real "THE END"...**_

 _ **I thank you so much for all your reviews and support and the amazing characters you gave me and let me bring to life! And for reading and following this story for the past 6 months! daaaamn... we've started this adventure in April, just when I started my exams... hahaha **_

_**I can't tell you when I'll write a Selection SYOC yet, but I love this fandom and this Community so much, that I'll definitely do one again... some day... ;) so be patient! My next project will be NANOWRIMO, starting in a few weeks, in November... I don't know yet if I'm re-writing Book 1 of my trilogy, or if I'm continuing Book 2**_ (that I started last Nano) _ **... I still have to decide... But you know, I really like coming back to fanfiction and to you guys, because writing alone with no feedback and support is hard... so yeah. The next few months will be harder! But I really want this trilogy to be written, so I'll work extra hard on it! Anyway, I'm ranting... sorry.**_

 _ **Thanks again for everything, and for your time on this story, making the characters, posting on Pinterest, answering my silly questions, and reading. I'm gonna cry... Okay. I'll stop here... GOOD BYE AND SEE YOU IN A FEW MONTHS MAYBE FOR A NEW FANFIC!**_ (follow me to get notified... hehehe)


End file.
